Eye witness explains why Iraq is unravelling

Twelve-plus years ago, when the US's coalition of the willing launched an invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq was supposed to embrace democracy, the rule of law and prosperity. As fast as you can say "Mission Accomplished," it all went horribly wrong.

Emma Sky saw much of the unmaking of Iraq firsthand, first as a British civilian volunteer trying to help rebuild Iraq beginning in 2003, then as a representative of the American-led transitional government, and finally as an advisor to American generals through the surge in 2007 and the eventual pullout of US troops from Iraq. She tells of her dismay at seeing one grievous mistake after another made by the Bush and Obama administrations, first during the invasion of Iraq, then during the reconstruction period and a flawed decision to withdraw troops. The result was an utterly broken Iraq.

Emma Sky is now Director of Yale World Fellows and a Senior Fellow at the Jackson Institute, where she teaches Middle East politics. She's also written about her unlikely journey in a new memoir called The Unravelling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq.