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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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German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, July 10, 2014

NATOSource

Sep 29, 2014

Defense Minister: Germany Unable to Meet NATO Commitments

By Deutsche Welle and AP

From Deutsche Welle:  Germany could not currently fulfill its NATO commitments in the event of an attack on a member of the alliance, owing in part to severe backlogs in replacement parts for its aircraft.

Germany
Iraq

In the News

Sep 26, 2014

Slavin: Iraq Looking for an “Independent” Sunni Defense Minister

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Lobelog on Iraq’s search for an independent Sunni defense minister:

Iraq

MENASource

Sep 23, 2014

Kurdish-Arab Rebel Alliance May be Key to Obama’s Syrian Strategy

By Mutlu Civiroglu and Wladimir van Wilgenburg

Now that the anti-ISIS coalition has struck Raqqa in Syria, it must seriously consider the Kurds as its most effective on the ground partners. The Obama administration needs local partners in Iraq and Syria to fight against the jihadist group, the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS, ISIL, or the Islamic State) if it […]

Iraq
Syria

New Atlanticist

Sep 17, 2014

The US Begins Bombing ISIS: Will President Obama’s Strategy Work?

The ‘Islamic State’ Cannot Be Destroyed with Syria’s Assad in Power, Fred Hof Says  As the United States opens a campaign of airstrikes against the brutal militants of ISIS, Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Fred Hof says the US aim of destroying the group will require the overthrow of Syria’s also-brutal president, Bashar al-Assad. Removing the […]

Iraq
Syria
Little Green Men in Ukraine and ISIL fighters hoisting flag

NATOSource

Sep 16, 2014

The Dual Threats to Western Values

By Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Wall Street Journal

The abhorrent beheading of two American journalists and a British aid worker shocked the world. So did the tragic downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine.

Iraq
NATO

MENASource

Sep 15, 2014

Are We Giving ISIS Too Much Credit?

Ramzy Mardini, nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, recently wrote in The Washington Post about the possibility of the Obama administration’s overestimation of the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). It’s an interesting question.

Iraq
Syria

New Atlanticist

Sep 11, 2014

Obama’s ISIS Strategy Likely to Put 5,000 US Troops Around Iraq Within 90 Days, Former CIA Chief Says

By Alex Ward and Liz Harper

Hayden: Plan Is a Step Forward, But US Should Know ‘We Are Putting Americans in Harm’s Way’ President Barack Obama’s new strategy for confronting the explosive growth of the ISIS militant movement in Iraq and Syria puts the United States “in a better place than we have been,” said General Michael Hayden, Atlantic Council board […]

Iraq
Syria

Article

Sep 11, 2014

Column: Coalition Against Islamic State Must Include Iran

By Barbara Slavin

President Barack Obama is right to focus on the responsibility of the Sunni Muslim world to attack and expunge the cancer that is the militant group calling itself the Islamic State (IS). The group’s perversion of Islam in the service of its barbaric goals needs to be confronted first and foremost by those for whom […]

Iraq
Saudi Arabia

Article

Sep 11, 2014

“Obama’s battle plan”

By Nicholas Burns

Obama’s foreign policy needs conviction of leadership IT’S NO secret that President Obama has had a troubled year in foreign policy. Critics from left, right, and center have lamented a global strategy lacking in toughness, strategic direction, and results. During the past few months, many of America’s closest friends have openly worried about America’s leadership […]

Iraq
NATO

New Atlanticist

Sep 11, 2014

Obama’s ISIS Strategy: Is It Enough?

By The Atlantic Council

Following President Obama’s September 10 speech outlining the US strategy to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS, the Atlantic Council held a conference call to assess the president’s plan. Listen to the audio below for expert analysis from Michael V. Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency, former CIA director, and Atlantic Council board director; […]

Iraq
Middle East

Experts

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