23 October 2017
Articles
Tillerson seeks Arab help in US effort to isolate Iran Sunday, 22 October 2017 20:45
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took the Trump administration's case for isolating and containing Iran in the Middle East and beyond to two Gulf Arab nations on Sunday, pushing for Saudi Arabia and Iraq to unite to counter growing Iranian assertiveness. He also called for a quick resolution to the ongoing crisis between Qatar and its Arab neighbors, which he said was unintentionally bolstering Iran. In Saudi Arabia and later Qatar, Tillerson denounced Iran's "malign behavior" and urged nations of the region and…
Abadi needs to pull Iraq back from destructive course against Kurds Tuesday, 17 October 2017 07:08
As Kurdish Peshmerga troops are preparing for a possible Iraqi Army and Shiite-majority Hashd al-Shaabi attack on Kirkuk, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi needs to demonstrate real leadership and political acumen by working to avert any possibility of a destructive war breaking out. After the Iraqi parliament compelled Abadi to send the army into the city and seize its oil facilities late last month, the Iraqi premier tweeted that: “We defend our Kurdish citizens as we defend all Iraqis and will…
Isis is facing near total defeat in Iraq and Syria – but it has been beaten and come back before Wednesday, 11 October 2017 21:12
Jihadis have been preparing bunkers with weapons caches in the desert, ready to wait out the storm Isis has fought desperately and skilfully to hold the Syrian city of Raqqa, under siege by Kurdish-led forces for more than four months, but will soon lose it in the latest defeat for the Islamic fundamentalist movement. Little is left today of the Caliphate declared in 2014, which once ruled most of western Iraq and eastern Syria. Isis battled far longer than anybody expected…
Middle East Kurds in Iraq vote in historic independence referendum Monday, 25 September 2017 19:55
IRBIL, Iraq — Kurds packed polling stations across northern Iraq on Monday in a historic referendum on independence despite vigorous opposition from the country’s central government as well as regional and world powers. Church bells tolled and imams implored Kurds over mosque loudspeakers to vote when polls opened across the Kurdish region — a swath of mountains, oil fields and desert that has been run as a semiautonomous enclave for decades. The poll is expected to produce an overwhelming yes result…
Is balance of power changing in Iraq to Iran’s detriment? Saturday, 16 September 2017 13:21
The reality in Iraq today is that the defeat of ISIS has provided a vacuum in its politics, which will have significant impact on the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country next year. In recent months, Iraqi people have witnessed new moves from political and religious groups who dominate the country’s politics. After 14 years of internal violent conflicts, part of the pro-Tehran Shi’ite alliance have finally realized that the unconditional dependence on the Iranian regime will further exacerbate the…
Middle East ISIS is near defeat in Iraq. Now comes the hard part. Friday, 15 September 2017 20:31
MOSUL, Iraq — The collapse of the Islamic State in its most important Iraqi strongholds has brought a rare moment of hope for a country mired in war for most of the past four decades. It is also a moment of peril, as Iraq emerges from the fight against the militants only to be confronted with the same problems that fueled their spectacular rise in 2014. Old disputes between Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds over territory, resources and power already are resurfacing…
Hezbollah and the Popular Mobilization versus the Armies of Lebanon and Iraq Sunday, 10 September 2017 21:12
In recent times, there have been two interesting developments in the efforts of the commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps in Iraq and Lebanon. Both events fall within the scope of the bid to impose the model produced by the Iranian Revolution, of creating a parallel military structure alongside the regular army, whereas the Popular Mobilization Units in Iraq operate in parallel with the Iraqi army, and Hezbollah in parallel with the Lebanese army, just like the IRGC operates…
Ruthless Iranian militia vows to turn against U.S. troops once Islamic State is defeated in Iraq Saturday, 09 September 2017 20:02
The U.S. military is keeping a wary eye on Iran’s most violent proxy militia in Iraq, which has vowed to start killing Americans again once the Islamic State is expelled. With the Islamic State’s defeat in Iraq coming closer — the U.S. estimates that the once 25,000-strong terrorist group is down to a few thousand followers at most holding only pockets of resistance — the danger from the HezbollahBrigades is fast approaching. A commander in the Shiiite battalion, also known as Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and the largest…
ANALYSIS: Is this the beginning of a new era for Iraq without Iran? Tuesday, 22 August 2017 03:51
The military phase of the fight against ISIS is winding down after the liberation of Mosul, and the battle for the nearby town of Tal Afar is predicted to end soon. This has provided an opportunity for Iraq to begin distancing itself from the influence gained by Iran following the disastrous 2003 war, and returning to its true Arabic heritage. Iraq was known as a melting pot where Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens lived alongside and in mixed societies for centuries. Prior to…
Can Anyone Stop Iran From Taking Over Iraq? Wednesday, 16 August 2017 13:29
BEIRUT — Mosul is back in the Iraqi government’s hands and the war against the Islamic State seems to finally be approaching its end. This is the good news. But one of the byproducts of the campaign is that Iran’s reach now extends even deeper throughout Iraq and seems unlikely to go away any time soon. A crucial fighting force in the battle for Mosul and other areas liberated from the Islamic State was provided by paramilitary groups that receive…
The blessed Iraqi movement Thursday, 03 August 2017 23:19
Encouraging signals emanating from Iraq these days are guiding toward a just path after the leader of the Supreme Islamic Council, Ammar Al Hakim, has relinquished his seat at the council to form the National ‘Hikma’ Party. Also a visit by the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr to Saudi Arabia on Monday shows that Iraqi Shiite leaders and political thinkers are looking for alternatives to the Iranian monopoly. This was not Al-Sadr’s first visit to Saudi Arabia. The…
