politics

Iraq and Chapter 7: End of an Era?

July 2, 2013

The lifting of the United Nations’ Chapter 7 Sanctions against Iraq, imposed after executed dictator Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, may be very good for Baghdad’s international standing and image. But it does not mean the country is ready or mature enough to be free from Security Council or international supervision. In its...
Read More »

Iraq’s Security Impossible Without Political Stability

May 20, 2013

Iraq’s volatile security situation and the central government’s failure to resolve ethnic and religious tensions are dividing the country into three de facto regions: The autonomous Kurdistan Region in the north, a turbulent “Sunni triangle” in the middle and a Shiite center and south. Every development on the political front is followed by security...
Read More »

The PKK Has Acted, Now it is Turkey’s Turn

May 16, 2013

The phased withdrawal of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas from Turkey into Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region must be followed up with serious moves by Ankara to settle the Kurdish issue. Otherwise, it will create many problems. The peace agreement, which is hoped to settle a three-decade conflict in Turkey, seems to have been made...
Read More »

Kurdistan Region: trade with Ankara & Politics with Baghdad

May 8, 2013

Judging from its agenda, an important oil and gas conference at month’s end in Erbil will focus on the new relationship between Turkey and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). It seems that the aim of the conference is to lay the groundwork for the Kurdistan Region’s emergence as an energy exporter, as it...
Read More »

Ten Years After the War, Where is Iraq Headed?

April 13, 2013

Much has been written about the 10th anniversary of the Iraq war, the US-led invasion, the liberation from Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, and the reconstruction and rebuilding of the nation. Most of the debate still centers around a specific event: The war, and its aftermath. The discussion still revolves around the question of whether the...
Read More »

Baghdad Without the Kurds

April 5, 2013

By their absence from both the central government in Baghdad and from parliament for weeks, Iraq’s autonomous Kurds have been expressing their extreme displeasure with the Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. But while the boycott of cabinet meetings and other official functions is understandable, the Kurdish absence in parliament creates the impression that the...
Read More »

follow me
mail me

Contact





Op-eds