ISW in Brief: Downward Spiral in Iraq
February 6, 2012 - Institute for the Study of War![](https://understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/styles/thumb-wide/public/iraq-slide-6_0.jpg?itok=og1RiXF2)
More than 400 people have died in Iraq since the U.S. withdrawal in mid-December. Coupled with the political struggles that broke out days after U.S. troops departed, Iraq’s worsening instability leaves little hope for developments that could augur an end to the crisis.