The next President of the United States will take office in January 2017 and\u00a0will likely preside over a \u201cmake-or-break\u201d moment in U.S.-Iraqi relations. The\u00a0presidential contenders will all advocate a more aggressive campaign against\u00a0Da\u2019esh in Iraq and most of them support an effort to reduce Iranian influence\u00a0in Iraq as well, albeit without a detailed idea of how to achieve either outcome.\u00a0Intensified use of U.S. special forces and airpower is likely to be offered by the\u00a0next U.S. president but there is no consensus regarding other U.S. policy options.\u00a0It is quite possible that Washington-Baghdad relations will have deteriorated\u00a0to the point that the next president does not attempt to repair the relationship,\u00a0with the United States balancing its commitment to Baghdad with intensified\u00a0cooperation with the Kurdistan Region as a counter-terrorism ally. Washington\u00a0will persist in calling for Baghdad to support a second Sunni Arab \u201cawakening\u201d\u00a0in Iraq, though without providing stronger direct support to Sunni paramilitaries.
\nThough there are some party political differences on policy options in Iraq \u2013 with\u00a0Republicans more hawkish and Democrats less inclined to commit U.S. effort \u2013the most likely \u201cestablishment\u201d candidates for president look set to continue a\u00a0slightly more aggressive version of Obama-era policies on Iraq.<\/p>\n