Maliki school

November 2, 2022 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in Iraq’s New Cabinet

It remains to be seen whether the Iraqi honeymoon continues.

October 28, 2022 |

Iraqi Parliament Approves New National Unity Cabinet

The Iraqi parliament on Thursday approved the “national unity” cabinet of Prime Minister Mohamed al-Sudani. While Sudani presented his 23-minister cabinet as a harmonious team of technocrats, the appointment of holdovers and new figures suggests that his government is not a coherent bloc but a gathering of competing powers. The development comes a year after Iraqis voted out incumbents and their power-sharing arrangements.

February 23, 2016 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross |

Neither Remaining Nor Expanding: The Islamic State’s Global Expansion Struggles

Co-written with Nathaniel Barr Judging from the Islamic State’s propaganda, it would appear the group is rapidly overtaking the Muslim world. The Islamic State has declare...

February 11, 2016 | John Hannah

What to Do When Your Man Just Won’t Commit, Baghdad Edition

I've been highly critical of President Barack Obama’s tenure as America’s commander in chief. But his shortcomings in this regard hardly came as a shock. Start your presidency wi...

May 14, 2015 | Saeed Ghasseminejad |

Royal Snub Signals US Disarray on Iran

Last Saturday, White House officials were boasting about the significance of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud's presence at a summit of Gulf leaders at Camp David, Maryl...

August 21, 2014 | Tony Badran |

The U.S. Is Following Iran’s Lead In Both Syria and Iraq

President Obama has made clear that the purpose of his limited intervention in Iraq is to shore up the central government in Bagh...

August 6, 2014 | Behnam Ben Taleblu |

A Widening Gulf: Impediments to Saudi Rapprochement with Iran

Despite...

July 2, 2014 | Sheryl Saperia |

The Enemy of My Enemy is Not Necessarily My Friend

In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan received a group of Afghan Mujahadeen in the White House. The US president sought to arm these fighters to resist an Afghan incursion by their mutual enemy:...

January 9, 2014 | Michael Ledeen |

The Meaning of Fallujah

Al-Qaeda is back in Fallujah and Ramadi, where we defeated them in the recent past. Everyone in the Middle East knew it, and they all knew al-Qaeda was on the ropes.  Recruitment was more di...

April 19, 2013 | John Hannah Foreign Policy |

Previewing Iraq’s Provincial Elections

This Saturday, Iraqis head to the polls to vote for provincial councils -- the country's first elections since U.S. troops withdrew sixteen months ago. The balloting comes at a time of growi...

January 28, 2013 | Michael Ledeen Faster, Please! |

The Obama Doctrine: Is he an Imperialist With a Little Foot, or Just an Old-Fashioned Appeaser?

Here comes Ross Douthat, trying to sort out Obama’s foreign policy.  He’s got...

January 25, 2013 | Tony Badran |

Whose Side is America On?

In President Barack Obama’s inaugural...

November 2, 2012 | Tony Badran NOW Lebanon |

Obama Runs From Iran

The Iranian challenge to US interests and allies is the most pressing strategic issue for Washington in the Middle East. With the US election less than a week away, now is as good a time as any t...

October 26, 2012 | Tony Badran |

Who Killed Wissam al-Hassan?

Who killed Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan? Following the assassination last Friday, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt blamed Syrian...

September 14, 2012 | John Hannah |

Good Friends are Hard to Find: Why the US Should Support Mithal Alusi and Kurdistan

I know. Foreign policy has been largely an afterthought in the presidential campaign. Iraq, for all intents and purposes, is off the radar screen entirely -- except as a Democratic talking point,...

June 1, 2012 | John Hannah |

Turkey, Kurdistan and the Future of Iraq: Time for Washington to Tune Back In

With last week's headlines dominated by Egypt's presidential elections, negotiations on Iran's nuclear program, and fresh atrocities in Syria, it would have been easy to miss a maj...

January 3, 2012 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross Gunpowder & Lead

Al Qaeda Round-Up, 2012

As we enter a new year, I wanted to outline the contours of, and analyze, a few issues that are likely to feature prominently in the fight between the U.S. and al Qaeda in 2012....

October 25, 2011 | Michael Ledeen Faster, Please! |

A Pattern of Appeasement and Retreat

Take two headlines, one about Iraq, the other about Afghanistan.  The Iraqis told us to honor our signed agreement, and pull out all our troops by year’s end.  Over in Kabul,...

June 15, 2011 | Weekly Standard

Are We Safer?

Yes, George W. Bush has made America more secure since 9/11.

June 14, 2011 | The Weekly Standard

The Sunni Side of the Street

As U.S. forces have pushed out from their bases and into neighborhoods across Iraq, and the surge has dramatically increased their capacity for offensive operations, a sense of security has swept...