Dr. Waleed al-Rawi is an Iraqi researcher and author of several articles and books about Islamic militant groups and Iraq. His latest book, The Islamic State of Iraq, was published in 2012 by Amina House Publishing in Amman, Jordan and has a forthcoming book on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. He is a retired brigadier general in the Iraqi Army. From 2001-2003 he was director of Research and Development at the Ministry of Defense and from 1996-2001 he was the principal secretary of the Minister of Defense. He has been an active member of the Arab Historian Union since 2005.