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The Iraq Initiative provides transatlantic and regional policy makers with unique perspectives and analysis on the ongoing challenges and opportunities facing Iraq as the country tries to build an inclusive political system, attract economic investment, and encourage a vibrant civil society.

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Nov 9, 2017

Iraq After the Kurdish Referendum

Iraq

In the News

Nov 7, 2017

Alfoneh Quoted in Reuters on Iraqi and Iranian Infrastructure Network

By Ali Alfoneh

Read the full article here.

Iran Iraq

MENASource

Oct 27, 2017

Abadi’s balancing act between the US and Iran

By Harith Hasan

Not many heads of governments in the Middle East can move swiftly between Riyadh, Cairo, Amman, Ankara, and Tehran, and receive a warm welcome in all those capitals. Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, followed this itinerary in the last few days, trying to create the image of a competent leader who victoriously took Iraq out […]

Iran Iraq

In the News

Oct 20, 2017

Stein Quoted in Al Jazeera on The Kurdish Collapse in Kirkuk

By Aaron Stein

Read the full article here.

Iraq

MENASource

Oct 17, 2017

Intra-Kurdish division and Abadi’s options

By Harith Hasan

In the wake of the September 25 referendum in Kurdistan, the Iraqi government announced on October 15 that it began a military deployment to reestablish authority in Kirkuk in coordination with the Peshmerga. It soon became clear that the Peshmerga mentioned belonged to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)—specifically, the Talabani family wing—which views aggressive […]

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Oct 17, 2017

Raqqa Falls. Now Comes the Hard Part

By Ashish Kumar Sen

As the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is driven from its strongholds in Syria, US-backed forces face the challenge of stabilizing these conflict-ravaged territories. This task is made more urgent by the fact that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and Iran-backed militias are swooping in on eastern Syria in an attempt to capitalize […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Oct 17, 2017

Post referendum hangovers: The local aspects

By Sardar Aziz

As Tip O’Neill coined it, “all politics is local.” Accordingly, the local dimension of the Kurdistan referendum is a core aspect, but underplayed as the news focuses on regional and international repercussions. The internal political moves that led up to the referendum and the referendum’s results will define KRG politics in the near future, but […]

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Oct 16, 2017

Iraqi Operation Will Deepen Rift Among Kurds

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Iraqi government forces on October 16 seized vital oil fields and the city of Kirkuk from Kurdish forces. The military action, which pits two US allies against each other, followed a September 25 referendum in which the Kurds voted for an independent state. The Iraqi government had declared the vote unconstitutional. Kirkuk, which is not […]

Iraq

Event Recap

Oct 10, 2017

The Kurdish Crisis: Baghdad, Erbil, and Institutional Reform in Iraq

By Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East

On October 10, 2017, the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East held a panel discussion on the recent Kurdish referendum and the state of Iraqi-Kurdish relations. Ambassador Frederic C. Hof, the director of the Hariri center, moderated the event. Ambassador Stuart Jones, Dr. Harith Hasan, and Dr. Denise Natali contributed to the discussion as […]

Iraq

MENASource

Oct 6, 2017

A difficult life in Mosul Post-ISIS

By Mustafa Habib

When the extremist group known as the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) was expelled from the northern city of Mosul, locals there were happy. But now, not so much, says Qassim Badran, a former employee of the local power department. The government stopped paying his salary back in 2014 when the Islamic State, or IS, […]

Iraq Terrorism

Experts