For the First Time, France Puts Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle Under US Command

MENASource
Jun 30, 2025

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

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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
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For the First Time, France Puts Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle Under US Command

MENASource
Jun 4, 2025

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

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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

For the First Time, France Puts Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle Under US Command

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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Content

Gen. Martin Dempsey and Gen. Pierre de Villiers aboard the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, March 8, 2015

NATOSource

Mar 9, 2015

For the First Time, France Puts Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle Under US Command

By Missy Ryan, Washington Post

When Gen. Martin Dempsey’s plane touched down Sunday on the deck of this ship, he became the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in recent history — perhaps ever — to set foot on a French aircraft carrier, a sign of the two nations’ increasing operational unity in the campaign against the Islamic […]

France Iraq

In the News

Mar 7, 2015

Mardini on ISIS’s Expansion Strategy

By Ramzy Mardini

The Sydney Morning Herald quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Ramzy Mardini on ISIS’s expansion in areas with weak or non-existent state institutions and what that means for the fight against them:

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Mar 6, 2015

Gender and the Jihadist: Radical Islam and Women

By Rola el-Husseini

The approach of International Women’s Day on March 8 prompts some reflection not only on the difficulties women face in the Middle East, but also their changing roles in conflict and religion. As religious extremism dominates the headlines, subtle shifts in how women engage with this phenomenon begin to emerge.

Iraq Middle East

In the News

Mar 6, 2015

Slavin Hosts VOA’s Issues in the News

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin hosts VOA’s Issues in the News discussing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress about downfalls of a possible nuclear deal with Iran, the Iraq-ISIS fight over Tikrit, the controversy over Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email account for government business, and Boris Nemtsov’s assassination:

Iraq Israel

MENASource

Mar 5, 2015

The Tikrit Offensive Raises Hard Questions about US Policy

By Faysal Itani and Jeppe Sorensen

In Iraq, an assault on ISIS-held Tikrit, north of Baghdad, is underway. In theory, this serves US goals: defeating the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) and restoring Iraq’s territorial integrity and political sovereignty. In practice, something different and more sinister is underway in Tikrit and Iraq writ large.

Iran Iraq

New Atlanticist

Mar 4, 2015

Vietnam on the Tigris and Euphrates?

By Harlan Ullman

For those of us old enough to recall the Vietnam War, fact and reality were obscured and mangled by successive White Houses anxious to reach the delusional “light at the end of the tunnel.” Tragically, at the end of the tunnel lay a quagmire that consumed 58,000 American and countless Vietnamese lives. In the highly complex […]

Iraq Syria

MENASource

Feb 26, 2015

ISIS Recruitment Tactics Stumble

By Mona Alami

As the pressure on the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) mounts against the backdrop of coalition attacks and a Kurdish offensive in Syria’s Raqqa region, militant recruitment has become a pressing matter for the radical organization, which has lost many fighters in clashes around Iraq and Syria.

Iraq Syria

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
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Marie Forestier 

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Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

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Distinguished Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

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Victoria J. Taylor 

Director, Iraq Initiative

Iraq Initiative Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Economy & Business Energy & Environment

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Rend Al-Rahim

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Iraq Initiative Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Democratic Transitions

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Yerevan Saeed

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Iraq Initiative Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

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Scott D. Berrier

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Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Afghanistan Defense Policy
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