“High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq”

When Emma Sky, a British civilian, volunteered to help rebuild Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, her assignment was only supposed to last three months. She went on to serve there longer than any other senior military or diplomatic figure, giving her an unrivaled perspective of the entire conflict. Ms. Sky became a tireless witness to American efforts to transform a country traumatized by decades of war, sanctions, and brutal dictatorship; to insurgencies and civil war; to the corrupt political elites who used sectarianism to mobilize support.