Before I became prime minister of Iraq, I recalled many questions that I had carried with me since my forced exile until my return in mid-2003, through all the stages that followed, all the way to the legitimate popular protests in October 2019. There is a common denominator between these questions: the lack of an important characteristic in their answers —transparency. This is the first step to building an institutional democratic state that enshrines the concept of belonging to the homeland, and requires all of us to put its interest ahead of any other consideration. I remember what I said in Irbil in October 2022, on the fifth anniversary of the death of former President Jalal Talabani: “Let us adhere to dialogue, dialogue, dialogue ... and nothing else, as it is our only way to resolve the crisis.” I remain confident about this path because of its necessity politically, economically, socially, and structurally, provided it is transparent, clear, comprehensive, deep, and productive, removes past obstacles, and establishes the foundation for reform of our political system. Why do we lose time? Discussions between elites, officials, and those concerned with public affairs always conclude with an acknowledgment of the failure of the political process that was built after 2003. This failure extends, first, to the form of the political, economic, and security system; second, the unifying relationship between the social components and segments; and third, to the nature of the discourse directed to the masses, and the competencies and energies of impulsive youth. All this failure is manifested by the helplessness of the state as a whole, the weakness of its institutions to perform their tasks, and the difficulty in regenerating itself. Discussions between elites, officials, and those concerned with public affairs always conclude with an acknowledgment of the failure of the political process that was built after 2003. Mustafa Al-Kadhimi These discussions raise questions and problems that require convincing answers that can be streamlined in media and public discourse, ensuring interaction between political and popular actors. It is necessary to start from a basic rule that calls for understanding the movement of history and learning from the experiences of others. History moves forward and cannot go backward. My constant recall of the experiences of others is not a pleasure, as much as it is a sincere invitation to benefit from and learn lessons and to buy time and invest it, instead of wasting it. We are in a fight against time, and missing the opportunity means delaying the future for years. Our young Iraqi experience at various levels seems humble in the face of the tremendous leaps that our surroundings and the world are witnessing. The national humanitarian and moral duty requires launching a sustainable reform and development project. This is based on the conviction that the era of coups is over, that military interventions do not build but rather destroy, and that honest discourse is linked to actions, not words. How can we achieve this? It is essential to open broad and transparent discussions on all thorny issues, or those that raise “reservations” and require a kind of consideration and silence. These discussions are based on legitimate questions, imposed by the failure to implement previous visions, and it has become necessary to address them so that they do not resurge in the next few years. What are the components of our Iraqi national identity? What are the unifying threads between those components? How can they be formulated and re-presented in a convincing way to all national, intellectual and social segments? This problem is the introduction to preserving the history that is deeply rooted in humanity, and it would be the starting point for building our future, for which we fought throughout the years of exile, defending those who opposed dictatorship inside and outside Iraq. What is the most appropriate form of government? How can we express the true will of the people? What is the optimal electoral system for this? Do some constitutional provisions need to be reconsidered? Let us define them and propose mechanisms to modify them. How can we organize the relationship between the central government and the Kurdistan region? Have we succeeded in implementing a federal system? How can we restore prestige to the state and its institutions? What is the most appropriate solution to control the rampant weapons that have become part of the culture of our society? We are in a fight against time, and missing the opportunity means delaying the future for years. Mustafa Al-Kadhimi Has our economic system succeeded in achieving the desired prosperity or failed in attaining even a minimum level of development? How can we restore the balance between the state’s financial resources without total dependence on oil? What needs to be prioritized: the higher Iraqi interest or the interests of others? Why can’t we be like others who put the interests of their country before everything else? Are Iraqis required to be internationalists or patriots? What are the forms of interaction with major issues and their limits? How will we build our state within this geographical, politically conflicting space? How can we turn this threat into an opportunity to make Iraq an arena for meeting, launching, and attracting major projects that achieve economic interconnection with our surroundings? How do we employ our moral and value system in our political work without making it an excuse for committing crimes, so that we do not lose those who believed in us and misplace values formulated by human nature? These problems will remain captive to the idea if they are not transformed into a serious dialogue that produces concepts, through a national institution that brings together the political, intellectual, academic and social elites, cooperating with each other, to find answers and turn them into projects in the hands of those concerned. In that way we restore lost confidence so that the people will be on the side of a state that is keen to renew itself on the one hand and establish a real reform path on the other, to reach comprehensive reconciliation based on dialogue and word, not violence and blood. • Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is the former prime minister of Iraq. This article first appeared in Asharq Al-Awsat.