The 2011 report "Costs of War" from Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies concluded that U.S. military presence in Iraq has not been able to prevent this corruption, noting that as early as 2006, "there were clear signs that post-Saddam Iraq was not going to be the linchpin for a new democratic Middle East."
Laporan "Costs of War" dari Watson Institute for International Studies Universitas Brown tahun 2011 menyatakan bahwa kehadiran militer AS di Irak belum mampu mencegah korupsi, mengungkapkan bahwa pada awal 2006, "jelas bahwa Irak pasca-Saddam tidak akan menjadi kunci demokrasi di Timur Tengah."