Programs

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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New Atlanticist

Nov 30, 2015

US Response to Migrant Crisis an ‘Existential Issue’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Former State Department official, R. Nicholas Burns, says United States needs to do more to help Syrian war refugees Americans need to repudiate the “deeply offensive” anti-migrant rhetoric coming from Republican presidential frontrunners Donald Trump and Ben Carson that runs contrary to the founding principles of the United States of America, said R. Nicholas Burns, […]

European Union Germany

New Atlanticist

Nov 24, 2015

Turkey Shot Down a Russian Jet. Here’s Why it Matters.

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The downing of a Russian SU-24 fighter jet by Turkey after it violated Turkish airspace and ignored ten warnings exemplifies the danger of Russian military support for Syria’s embattled President Bashar al-Assad. But it will also complicate French President François Hollande’s quest to include Moscow in a unified coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq […]

Iraq NATO

MENASource

Nov 23, 2015

FACTBOX: Evolution of the Islamic State’s Chemical Weapons Capacity

By Andrea Taylor

Days after the terror attack in Paris, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told the French parliament the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) presents a “risk [to France] of chemical or bacteriological weapons.”

Iraq Syria

Defense Industrialist

Nov 23, 2015

Planes or train?

By James Hasik

Just “how can Canada best” contribute to the fight in Iraq and Syria? The Americans are bombing. The French are now bombing by the score. The British are slinging Brimstone. The Canadians will train the Peshmerga. That’s right—making good on a campaign promise, new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau still intends to withdraw the six F-18 […]

Iraq Syria

In the News

Nov 13, 2015

Slavin Joins Issues in the News

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin joins Voice of America’s Issues in the News to discuss the attack by Kurdish forces on ISIS militants in Syria and Iraq, the elections in Myanmar, Russia’s plan for Syria, and the republican presidential debate:

Iraq Russia

In the News

Nov 13, 2015

Hof on US Policy against ISIS in Syria

By Frederic Hof

The Atlantic quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on the horrors of the Syrian conflict and why ISIS is an easier target in Syria than Iraq: 

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Nov 9, 2015

Recalling Ahmad Chalabi, The Man Who Wanted to Take Saddam’s Place

By Thomas Krajeski

Ahmad Chalabi leaned forward in his chair, his soft hands with their perfectly manicured nails splayed flat on the table between us. “Tom, you don’t understand,” he said in his perfect, virtually unaccented English. “I would do or say anything to persuade the United States to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam. Anything.”

Iraq
NATO warships participating in Trident Juncture exercise, Oct. 29, 2015

NATOSource

Nov 5, 2015

NATO to Reinforce its Mediterranean Presence

By Sam Jones, Financial Times

Nato will outline proposals next month for a new “southern strategy” in response to mounting instability across the Middle East and Russia’s growing military presence south of the Bosphorus….

Iraq Libya

In the News

Oct 26, 2015

Slavin: Iraqi Shi’ite Cleric Hopes for New US President ‘Between Bush and Obama’

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Voice of America on Iraq’s need for continued assistance from the United States:

Iraq

MENASource

Oct 23, 2015

Iraqi Kurdistan Needs a Referendum to Resolve its Political Crisis

By Nussaibah Younis

Iraqi Kurdistan is often hailed as a democratic, reliable, and effective partner for Western powers engaging with Iraq, but the political crisis that has overtaken the region this year has exposed just how fragile and problematic the Iraqi Kurdish political system really is.

Iraq

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