Cautious Optimism in Maliki’s Departure

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

Cautious Optimism in Maliki’s Departure

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

Cautious Optimism in Maliki’s Departure

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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MENASource

Aug 15, 2014

Cautious Optimism in Maliki’s Departure

By Ramzy Mardini

Iraq’s struggle for power ended on August 14 when Nouri al-Maliki conceded the office of the prime minister to his rival Haidar al-Abadi, a member of the same Shiite Islamist Da’awa party, who was designated by Iraq’s president earlier this week to form a government.

Iraq

MENASource

Aug 14, 2014

Obama Won’t Commit to Syria, But Congress Can

By Jason T. Hunt

The United States began directly fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS, aka ISIL, Islamic State) this weekend through airstrikes on its terrorist forces in Iraq. The strikes helped the Peshmerga forces of the Kurdish Regional Government solidify their defenses, stabilizing one front against ISIS. However, ISIS continues to maintain and consolidate a […]

Iraq Syria

In the News

Aug 13, 2014

Mardini on the Challenges Facing Iraq’s Kurds

By Ramzy Mardini

Reuters quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Ramzy Mardini on the Kurdish peshmerga forces:

Iraq

In the News

Aug 13, 2014

Itani on US Action in Iraq

By Faysal Itani

Rudaw quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on US airstrikes in northern Iraq:

Iraq

Defense Industrialist

Aug 13, 2014

Divesting the MRAP

By James Hasik

    BAE’s planned sale of Land Systems South Africa reminds us that not just companies, but countries, can reconstitute some industrial capabilities when needed.   As was widely reported on Monday, BAE Systems and investment firm DGD are selling their Land Systems South Africa business to state-owned Denel for (US) $80 million. As Bloomberg Business Week noted, LSSA does make more […]

Iraq

Article

Aug 13, 2014

Column: Above All Else, Save the Kurds

By Barbara Slavin

President Barack Obama is clearly not happy about ordering U.S. military intervention in Iraq again. But with Islamic State militants (ISIS) terrifyingly close to the Kurdish capital, Irbil, and 40,000 members of a religious minority facing death on a mountaintop, Obama decided to deploy a limited amount of U.S. airpower in a country where U.S. […]

Iraq

In the News

Aug 13, 2014

Joyner: No, We’re Not Supporting Regime Change in Iraq

By James Joyner

Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow James Joyner writes in the Hill on the US role in pushing out Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki:

Iraq
A cave facility in Norway used by the US military, 1997

NATOSource

Aug 13, 2014

Pentagon Increasing Its Arsenal of Weapons in Norway’s Caves

By Dan Lamothe, Washington Post

In the heart of Norway’s countryside, the U.S. military is bolstering its arsenal of weapons with tanks, gun trucks and other armored vehicles along with hundreds of containers of equipment.

Iraq NATO

In the News

Aug 13, 2014

Hof: Obama’s Options in Iraq

By Frederic C. Hof

Rafik Hariri Center Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof is quoted by Bloomberg on the recently announced US military operation in Iraq:

Iraq

In the News

Aug 13, 2014

Itani: “Maliki Cannot Survive”

By Faysal Itani

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani is quoted in Foreign Policy on Nouri al-Maliki’s ouster in Iraq:

Iraq
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