Month

Archives: Iraq

Revival of Iraqi Communism among Youth alarms Shiite Militias

Mustafa Habib | (Niqash.org) | - - Last week’s kidnapping of seven activists in Baghdad could be another sign of increasing tensions between secular parties in Iraq and the country’s ruling religious…

Mosul on My Mind: What It Really Means to Be on a Flattening Planet

By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - The closest I ever got to Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, was 1,720.7 miles away -- or so the Internet assures me. Although…

After Mosul: The Coming ISIL Apocalypse in al-Anbar Desert

By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - While fighting against the Islamic State group drags on in Mosul, tribal and military forces in Anbar are preparing for what will…

What will new French President Macron do about Syria & ISIL?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Now that Emmanuel Macron is president of France, it is worthwhile asking what sort of foreign policy he would be likely to pursue.…

It was ISIL, not Hackers, who Hijacked French Election

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - That hackers, most likely Russia-linked, were trying to throw the French election to Marine Le Pen this weekend by releasing thousands of emails…

Can Iraq’s Sunni Politicians agree on post-ISIL Future?

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - "Iraq’s Sunni Muslims desperately need their politicians to present a united front and act in their interests. But the politicians cannot agree on…

Power, Water, Music: Mosul comes back to Life

Special Correspondent | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - Locals in the parts of Mosul, from which extremists have been pushed out, are celebrating small signs of returning life: For one thing,…

In 3 months, Trump has Charged into 4 Mideast Wars, to no Avail

Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - In his less than three months in office, Donald Trump has escalated four wars, and all of his escalations have been failures. To be…

‘Sicide belts Everywhere’: As Iraqi Forces Close in, ISIL prepares to Drink the Coolaid

‘Suicide belts Everywhere’: As Iraqi Forces Close in, ISIL prepares to Drink the Coolaid

Special Correspondent | (Baghdad) | (Niqash.org) | - - As pro-Iraq forces close in on the Islamic State fighters in Mosul, civilians trapped in the city with them, say the extremists roam…

ISIL Now Controls only 7% of Iraq: What will its Defeat Mean for the Country?

Peter Bartu | (OpenDemocracy.net) | - - The west has treated ISIL as enemy number one while local actors see it as a sideshow in a political arena stretching from the Mediterranean…

Al-Sadr: Russia, America and al-Assad should all get out of Syria!

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Saturday issued a broadside demanding that Russia and the United States withdraw from Syria and that strongman…

Even once ISIL is defeated, the problem of Manhunts and Reprisals

Mustafa Habib | (Baghdad) | Niqash.org | - - While Iraqi forces battle the Islamic State in west Mosul, intelligence services work in the east, to hunt down former members of the…

Kushner of Arabia: Can Trump’s Son-in-Law Figure out Iraq?

By Shahram Akbarzadeh | (Informed Comment) | - - Days before President Donald J. Trump ordered cruise missile strikes on Syria, his son-in-law Jared Kushner visited Iraq to learn first-hand how the…

Mosul: ISIL Deploys Ideological Booby Trap As It Retreats

David Patrikarakos | ( RFE/RL ) | - - The coalition battling to take the Iraqi city of Mosul from the extremist [so-called] "Islamic State" group (IS) is closing in. Earlier this…

Iraqis Weigh in on Airstrike That Killed Hundreds In Mosul

Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - There is plenty of speculation about how hundreds of non-combatants were killed in Mosul, all apparently by accident. US and Iraqi forces have…

Mosul: As US admits some Responsibility for Civilian deaths, Iraqi PM lashes out at Critics

Mosul: “Some” US Responsibility for Civilian deaths; but Iraqi PM lashes out at Critics

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - As US commanders begin confessing that it is likely that the US military bears responsibility for last Thursday's errant airstrike that killed as…

Mosul: ISIL Scorched Earth Tactics put Civilians in Crossfire

Special Correspondent* | Niqash.org | Baghdad | - - Mosul Locals Explain Extremists’ Desperate Tactics Mosul locals, some of whom have escaped the extremists and some who are still under their control,…

After Trump Massacres in Mosul, Campaign against ISIL Halted

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Candidate Donald Trump called last year for carpet-bombing of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) in Iraq and Syria. It is possible that Trump has loosened…

Did Trump loosen Rules? Charges that US Airstrikes Kill 230 Iraqi Civilians in Mosul

TeleSur | - - "Finding survivors is very difficult because the area is completely destroyed," an authority told reporters. "It's a very big disaster, indeed we can describe it as a disaster."…