Iraq’s National Guard and the Perils of Decentralization

MENASource
Jun 30, 2025

Balancing acts and breaking points: Iraq’s US-Iran dilemma

By
C. Anthony Pfaff

The future of US–Iraq relations is neither as dim as it may first appear, nor as promising as one might hope.

Geopolitics & Energy Security
Iran

Iraq’s National Guard and the Perils of Decentralization

MENASource
Jun 4, 2025

Why Iraq should build bridges with its ‘new’ neighbor, Syria

By
Shermine Serbest

Iraq’s position on the Syria transition is split between two camps: the official government, and that of the powerful non-state actors.

Iraq
Middle East

Iraq’s National Guard and the Perils of Decentralization

MENASource
Apr 17, 2025

Trump must clarify his Iraq policy. Washington’s Middle East investment hangs in the balance.

By
Sarkawt Shamsulddin

Contradictory signals from the US president on Iraq’s Iran-connected Popular Mobilization Forces risks derailing hard-won progress.

Iraq
Middle East

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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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Kirsten Fontenrose


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Abbas Kadhim


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Iraq
Middle East


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David Mack


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Masoud Mostajabi


Former Deputy Director, Iraq Initiative

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Ahmed Tabaqchali


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Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

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Thomas S. Warrick


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Content

MENASource

Feb 18, 2015

Iraq’s National Guard and the Perils of Decentralization

By Adam Simpson

Iraq’s Council of Ministers promulgated a long-gestating law to create a National Guard on February 3. The proposal would create local fighting forces comprised of militias answerable to respective provincial governments and the prime minister.

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Feb 12, 2015

Airstrikes will Strengthen ISIS, says Fayyad

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister says root causes must be addressed The ongoing coalition airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham will do very little to destroy the militant group and may, in fact, enhance its ability to recruit more fighters, according to Salam Fayyad, a former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority. […]

Iraq National Security

Defense Industrialist

Feb 11, 2015

Rescuing Pilots, Selling Airplanes

By James Hasik

The UAE’s demand for rescue V-22s is a marketing triumph that recalls a procurement failure.   The United Arab Emirates were in, bombing northern Iraq and western Syria with their widely praised Air Force, and allowing Major Mariam al Mansouri to strike a small blow for Arab women’s rights along the way. But then the Emirates were out, after […]

Defense Industry Iraq

In the News

Feb 9, 2015

Slavin: Shiite Militias Mixed Blessing in Iraq, Syria

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Al Monitor on the rise of Iran-backed militias on the battlefield in Iraq and Syria:

Iran Iraq
US Navy F-18s after conducting air strikes in Syria, Sept. 23, 2014

NATOSource

Feb 4, 2015

Infographic: Coalition Airpower Against ISIL in 2014

By Department of Defense

Airpower data for the international coalition fighting ISIL.

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Jan 28, 2015

The Past, Present, and Future of Iraqi Tribes in Shaping National Identity

By Jeppe Stavnsbo Sorensen

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s encouragement of a tribal revolution to fight the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL), or the foreign enemy, seems to be a necessary reaction to the dire situation of the state army, struggling to maintain an effective force in the face of the jihadist threat.

Iraq
President Barack Obama at Osan Air Base, Nov. 19, 2009

NATOSource

Jan 27, 2015

After Years of Cuts, Obama Proposes Increasing US Defense Budget

By Marcus Weisgerber, Defense One

The Obama administration will propose a defense spending increase to levels not seen since 2012 when it sends Congress a $585 billion Pentagon budget request on Monday.

Afghanistan Iraq

New Atlanticist

Jan 25, 2015

As the ISIS Wars Uproot Millions, Iraq’s Kurdish Region Faces a Flood of Human Misery

By Bina Hussein

Of 2 Million Refugees in Kurdish Zone, Most Languish Outside Camps, With Little or No Aid Amid the world attention focused on 3.8 million Syrians uprooted by the violent spread of the ISIS Islamist army, a little-noted part of that crisis is the flood of perhaps 2 million refugees from both Syria and Iraq into […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Jan 24, 2015

What 2015 Holds for the Middle East

By Nabeel Khoury

In “The Arab Cold War Revisited,” published in Middle East Policy 2013, I suggested that Arab monarchies, authoritarian republics, and Islamist forces comprised the three main axes competing for power in the Middle East. I argued that the competition would likely continue until the more radical Islamists were defeated and the state systems went back […]

Iraq Middle East

Defense Industrialist

Jan 20, 2015

Arming the Anti-Terror Armies

By James Hasik

Middle Eastern armed forces need practical kit and service from Middle Eastern industry.   As Congressman Mack Thornberry pointed out with a letter in the Washington Post earlier this month, hashtags and placards don’t kill terrorists. People with guns and aircraft do. But what kind of guns and aircraft are best for fighting them is another matter—and who delivers them can matter […]

Afghanistan Iraq
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Marie Forestier 

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

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Scott D. Berrier

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Afghanistan Defense Policy

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Linda Lourie

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Artificial Intelligence Australia

Fellow

Elliot Ackerman

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Afghanistan Defense Policy

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Nibras Basitkey

Associate Director, empowerME

empowerME Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Economy & Business

Fellow

Alia Brahimi

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Civil Society
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