Parliamentary elections in Iraq were originally scheduled for last spring, but the vote was postponed until October 10. This election is important for Iraqis in light of recent developments. For the past two years, Iraq has witnessed ongoing peaceful protests that have been countered with brutal...
The violent attack on the US Capitol that defiled the very foundations of “the beacon of democracy” not only violently jolted the American psyche but astonished the world. While many scratched their heads and asked why this was happening, many others pointed to Donald Trump as being culpable...
After al-Qaeda targeted the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, then-US President George W. Bush declared his (in)famous doctrine of the global war on terror, which will continue to have a great effect on the Middle East and the world for the coming decades, if not...
At Bagram air base, Afghan scrap merchants are already picking through the graveyard of US military equipment that was until recently the headquarters of America’s 20-year occupation of their country. Afghan officials say the last US forces slipped away from Bagram in the dead of night, without...
Iraq faces many domestic and regional challenges. Of all six Gulf Cooperation Council member states, Kuwait is arguably the most concerned about instability in Iraq.
In late March, the US-led coalition, operating under the auspices of Operation Inherent Resolve, announced that it was relocating most of its personnel and equipment out of Iraq. By early April, the coalition already completed the transfer of four major bases hosting US-led troops back to Iraqi...
In January, the US assassinated two crucial military figures — Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) — on Iraqi territory. This led the Iraqi parliament to vote in favor of the departure of all foreign forces...
A widespread belief in Iraq is that the post-Baathist system has failed the country. Many Iraqis accuse their leaders of pillaging the nation’s wealth while providing poor services to citizens.
Headlined “U.S. Seeks Other Ways to Stop Iran Shy of War,” the article was tucked away on page A9 of a recent New York Times. Still, it caught my attention. Here's the first paragraph: “American intelligence and military officers are working on additional clandestine plans to...
On August 14, a major explosion occurred in the gas transportation pipeline of the Electricity Distribution Station of Alhartha, located in Iraq’s southern governorate of Basra. Although local sources have talked of some “technical cause,” the blast’s reason remains unclear. In the...
