Degrading Environmental Conditions in Iraq Providing Cover for Terrorism
Over a three-week span in April and May, the Iraqi news agency Shafaq News reported at least three separate attacks in which ISIS fighters took advantage of dust storms to…
Iran Vows Action Against Iraqi Kurdistan-Based Insurgents
In the excerpted article from the Fars News Agency, an outlet close to the Iranian military and the hardline political spectrum, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of Staff of the…
Violent Non-State Actors in Africa Increasing Their Use of Drones
As the accompanying article from the South African security think tank the Institute for Security Studies notes, the use of drones by African violent non-state actors has received little media…
Israel Claims Iran Training Terrorists to Operate Drones at Kashan Airbase
The accompanying passages from well-known Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Times of Israel report on recent comments by Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz regarding Iranian export of terrorism. Gantz recently…
The Shadow of ISIS: Challenges to Iraqi Families from Syria’s al-Hawl Refugee Camp
In late May, nearly one hundred Iraqi families, over 300 people, were repatriated from Syria’s al-Hawl refugee camp, under UN auspices and heavily armed Iraqi government escort. Iraqi repatriations from…
Iraq Poised to Become Increasingly Dependent on Iran for Electricity
Decades of sanctions, war, and corruption have eroded Iraq’s electrical grid. While both the United States and Iraq have invested billions of dollars into Iraq’s grid, Iraq’s rapidly expanding population—more…
ISIS Resurgence a Matter of Time in Al-Hawl
23 March 2021 marked the two-year anniversary of the Battle of Baghuz, in which Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF),, with coalition support, expelled ISIS from its final population center (on the…
Turkey and Iran Compete for Influence in Iraq
High-level Iranian officials recently condemned Turkish threats to launch a military operation to confront Kurdish militants in Iraq’s Sinjar District. As the accompanying articles report, the rivalry between Iran and…
PKK Casts Shadow on Turkey-Iraq Relations
On Dec. 17, 2020, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to Turkey. The visit took place after months of tense relations over several issues, with…
Observers Note Militarization of Turkish Foreign Policy
In recent years the goal of Turkish foreign policy has been to achieve short-term results with coercive measures. Rather than engaging in diplomacy, Turkey has relied on hard power and…