I think all this talk about CDs, software, etc. is missing the point. If you want to learn a language, surround yourself with people who are speaking it. By far your best bet is to go to a country where it's spoken. Second best -- but it's a distant second best -- is to hang out in communities that speak it.
Lessons are useful but not remotely sufficient for learning a language. North Americans, frankly, don't get this at all; we think that knowing a second language means we took it in college. The fact is that people who've studied a language only through coursework (and associated tools) almost never reach the point of being able to understand conversations between native speakers or hold their own in ordinary conversation. It's really a sort of pathetic joke how badly that system works. Europeans, on the other hand, pick up languages in their drinking water; damn you, Europeans!
If you're at all able to set aside a few months to devote yourself to learning Arabic and go to an Arabic speaking country, your learning will be greatly accelerated. Failing that, here's a trick I've been planning to use for years: find a senior citizens' centre devoted to the community that speaks the language. Old people in nursing homes are often starved for attention, and they're hardwired to help younger people learn.
Finally, you have one major advantage: you're trying to learn the language of a reviled minority. (I'm assuming you're in the US, though it's true to a lesser extent in some other places.) That's a huge act of respect toward people who are used to being disrespected. If you're halfway sincere, it should be easy to meet people who would be happy to help you learn. If I were you I'd find out if there are any Iraqi ex-pats in your area. They'd likely be well educated. Not only could you learn a lot, I bet you'd make some friends for life.
It is quite often not possible to relocate, even to an immigrant community.
It is also not necessary. You may be surprised to find that we in Europe also learn languages in a class (granted often taken for years, not semesters)[1]. This will certainly be sufficient for someone to get to a point where they can "hold their own". Interest in the language in form of self-study further enhances this, even if nothing compares to immersion.
As for studying without the luxury of immersion, vocabulary is the most important thing. You can make yourself understood with nouns and unconjugated verbs alone. Spice it up with a little basic grammar, and then start listening and reading. TV, movies, books, magazines, dictionary at hand.
[1] Europeans who speak English and German or Swedish do gain reading comprehension in a free bonus language: Dutch.
Based on years of experience with language learning and teaching, I'm tempted to say that European patterns don't generalize to North America. I never saw even one North American student gain anything resembling fluency by using these techniques. And I've seen hundreds flail. What I'm describing is how the people whom I've known to achieve fluency actually did it, where fluency is defined as being able to understand conversation between native speakers and hold one's own in it.
It's hard to exaggerate how far multilingualism is from the norm here. No doubt the reasons for this go far beyond individual effort or technique.
Lessons are useful but not remotely sufficient for learning a language. North Americans, frankly, don't get this at all; we think that knowing a second language means we took it in college. The fact is that people who've studied a language only through coursework (and associated tools) almost never reach the point of being able to understand conversations between native speakers or hold their own in ordinary conversation. It's really a sort of pathetic joke how badly that system works. Europeans, on the other hand, pick up languages in their drinking water; damn you, Europeans!
If you're at all able to set aside a few months to devote yourself to learning Arabic and go to an Arabic speaking country, your learning will be greatly accelerated. Failing that, here's a trick I've been planning to use for years: find a senior citizens' centre devoted to the community that speaks the language. Old people in nursing homes are often starved for attention, and they're hardwired to help younger people learn.
Finally, you have one major advantage: you're trying to learn the language of a reviled minority. (I'm assuming you're in the US, though it's true to a lesser extent in some other places.) That's a huge act of respect toward people who are used to being disrespected. If you're halfway sincere, it should be easy to meet people who would be happy to help you learn. If I were you I'd find out if there are any Iraqi ex-pats in your area. They'd likely be well educated. Not only could you learn a lot, I bet you'd make some friends for life.