Conclusion
In light of the CPA’s experience, it is difficult to imagine what alternative media landscape could have been shaped more successfully within the same time constraints. For sure, the occupying forces' top-down reforms have left an indelible mark on Iraq, paving the way for a more liberal media environment. The country has witnessed some unprecedented developments, redefining the limits of freedom of expression and shaping a legal and institutional framework that is more supportive of independent media. Mistakes have been committed, failing to eradicate some institutions and practices that date back to the authoritarian past and assuming that decades of history and perceptions could be forcibly reversed. Iraq is still coping with this legacy and change will come at its own pace. However, the Iraqi media stand today as one of the most rich and diverse contexts in the region, where differences are too often simplified and translated into a source of conflict. Strategies for the future growth of media markets cannot ignore the political and military situation, but they should also explore new ways of generating commercial revenues to resist the pressures of state and partisan donors.