President Obama marked the end of the Iraq War (2003-20011) with a speech at Fort Bragg today.

United States military forces are scheduled to depart from Iraq by the end of the month, but State Department officials, contractors, and security personnel will remain in the nation to support reconstruction and stability efforts.

Despite all the cheers for an end of the Iraq War, the political and security situation in Iraq remains unstable.

Historians of war and society are familiar with the difficulties of ending wars, especially ones involving serious civil conflict.  One good source for considering the problem of halting civil warfare is Roy Licklider, ed. Stopping the Killling: How Civil Wars End (New York: New York University Press, 1993).