The military defeat of ISIL, the ramifications of the Kurdish referendum and the upcoming parliamentary elections represent defining moments in Iraq’s contemporary history. There is now an opportunity to reorient Iraq’s trajectory and propel the country towards prosperity and stability. Failure to seize this opportunity will condemn Iraq to deepen instability and may well doom Iraq to utter collapse. As such, Iraq is in urgent need of an internal dialogue to address the underlying structural flaws at the crux of the post-2003 political order. Iraqis…

raq started the new year with­out parts of its territory under Islamic State (ISIS) control for the first time in four years but, as Iraqis look to a future free from the ills of the militant group, many of the country’s problems are in urgent need of being addressed. When ISIS captured Falluja in January 2014, Iraq was plagued with serious levels of corruption and a revival of sectarianism. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has vowed to crack down on…

In recent times, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi has been mistreating the Kurdish citizens in his country. It is time for this to come to an end.   U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has finally declared that Washington, D.C. will stand with the Kurds in their efforts to get the Iraqi Constitution fully implemented. In recent years, the Iraqi Constitution has been violated repeatedly, thus providing the Kurds with a major incentive to secede and declare independence. After the U.S.…

PART I A GLOBAL THREAT EMERGES How Hezbollah turned to trafficking cocaine and laundering money through used cars to finance its expansion. In its determination to secure a nuclear deal with Iran, the Obama administration derailed an ambitious law enforcement campaign targeting drug trafficking by the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, even as it was funneling cocaine into the United States, according to a POLITICO investigation. The campaign, dubbed Project Cassandra, was launched in 2008 after the Drug Enforcement Administration amassed…

The defeat of Daesh is imminent, despite isolated pockets where the terror organization still has a presence. A complete victory over Daesh would be a great achievement for Iraq and the international community, and a successful model for fighting terrorism. But how can we sustain this victory and win the peace as well? The liberation of Mosul and other towns that Daesh overran a few years ago has been a major success. But this is no time for complacency, even…

The prospect of potential domestic unrest has hit a raw nerve in Iran. Iran has long been a formidable regional force. It has projected its power by backing Shia militias, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon or Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraq, or Sunni groups such as Hamas in Palestine, thereby engaging in a proxy war strategy throughout the Middle East. However, since the independence referendum held in Iraqi Kurdistan on September 25, Iran has become decidedly more explicit in flaunting its involvement in…

The independence referendum in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq has resulted in a tumultuous aftermath that recalls the old adage that the Kurds have no friends but the mountains. Reaction by all neighbors, including the central Iraqi government in Baghdad, has been harsh. Iraqi, Iranian, and Turkish-backed forces have occupied Kurdish areas in the month following the referendum. KRG president Masoud Barzani is stepping down. But the referendum has brought attention to the Kurdish cause and exposed the machinations…

For those of us who have suffered and warned of the Obama administration doctrine, which has allowed Iran to roam freely in our midst and interfere unimpeded in our domestic affairs from the GCC states to the Mediterranean and brag about controlling four Arab capitals under Obama’s watch, the newly declared Trump administration strategy announced in the middle of last month, decertifying Iran’s nuclear agreement, sanctioning Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and doubling down on Iran’s mischief, rogue state behaviour and ballistic…

The recent takeover of Kirkuk by the Iranian backed militias and Iraqi army clearly illustrates that now Iran is calling the shots in every important decision of Iraq. This whole operation and withdrawal of PUK Peshmerga, without resistance to advancing Iraqi forces was planned by Iran Quds force commander Major General Qassem Soleimani. The extent of involvement by the Iraq Prime Minister’s office in this whole episode is still unclear, but one thing is certain -- decisions were made in…

Oct. 24 (UPI) -- The interference of the Iranian terrorist commander Qasem Soleimani in the internal affairs of Iraq has reached scandalous proportions that should sound alarm bells in the West. It has emerged that the general, who commands the terrorist Quds Force, responsible for foreign operations by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, orchestrated the reoccupation of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and many other Kurdish regions in Northern Iraq.  Kirkuk and other disputed areas bordering Kurdistan had been held by the…