Masoud Barzani

October 22, 2021 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

Iraqi election results confirm Iran’s unpopularity

Iraqi voters this month made it clear they have had enough of Iran’s violent interference in the country’s politics. Under the direction of Tehran’s Quds Force — the external operations arm of its...

August 16, 2020 | Aykan Erdemir, Philip Kowalski

Joe Biden Will Be America’s Most Pro-Kurdish President

The real test of Biden’s pro-Kurdish sentiments will be whether the need to maintain pragmatic cooperation with Ankara and Baghdad will ultimately force him to temper his commitment to the Kurds that the mountains are not their only friends.

May 22, 2018 | Romany Shaker |

Iranian General Soleimani in Iraq as Post-Election Government Formation Talks Begin

Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani visited Baghdad las...

March 16, 2018 | Romany Shaker

Iraq’s 2018 Budget Deadlock Deepens Tensions Ahead of Elections

On March 3, the Iraqi Parliament adopted...

November 8, 2017 | Behnam Ben Taleblu, Merve Tahiroglu

Kurd Your Enthusiasm

On October 16, the world woke to footage of the Iraqi army barreling toward Kirkuk, several hundred miles n...

October 3, 2017 | John Hannah |

The United States Must Prevent Disaster in Kurdistan

You have to hand it to them. U.S. officials nailed it. Prior to the Sept. 25 independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, they couldn’t have been clearer in setting out the parade of horribles that m...

September 29, 2017 | Aykan Erdemir |

Referendum Triggers Turkish Vitriol against Kurds – and Jews

Iraqi Kurds voted overwhelmingly on Monday in favor of a referendum on independence for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) an...

September 21, 2017 | Aykan Erdemir, Merve Tahiroglu

Why is Turkey so disjointed over the Iraqi Kurds?

Iraq’s Kurds are preparing ...

April 27, 2017 | Aykan Erdemir |

Turkish Airstrikes Complicate Campaign against IS

Turkish jets carried out airstrikes Tuesday and...

December 1, 2016 | Aykan Erdemir, Merve Tahiroglu

Ankara’s Turkmen House of Cards

The Mosul operation has made the predominantly Turkmen city of Tal Afar the latest focus of Turkey a...

February 9, 2015 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross |

How Many Fighters Does the Islamic State Really Have?

Estimates of the number of fighters in the ranks of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are extraordinarily wide-ranging. On the low end of things, CNN’s Barbara Starr recently...

August 12, 2014 | Clifford D. May |

America Needs an ‘Overarching Strategy’

Here’s the dilemma: How do we stop the Islamic State without strengthening the Islamic Republic?  The Islamic State, a growing Sunni jihadist militia, now controls large swath...

June 30, 2014 | Tony Badran |

A Hard Sell

The unfolding situation in Iraq has reportedly reignited the debate insi...

May 14, 2013 | John Hannah |

Erdogan’s Great Gamble

Something quite extraordinary -- perhaps even historic -- is afoot in Turkey. The country's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is engaged in a colossal roll of the political dice, an act...

March 21, 2013 | Tony Badran |

The End of Syria

Last week marked the second year anniversary of the popular uprising in Syria. On its current trajectory, Syria is headed toward geographical fragmentation. As the security situation deteriorates...

January 25, 2013 | Tony Badran |

Whose Side is America On?

In President Barack Obama’s inaugural...

January 17, 2013 | Tony Badran |

The Kurds’ Sensitive Juncture

Last week’s killing in Paris of three female Kurdish activists with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has spurred much...

November 23, 2012 | Tony Badran The Jerusalem Post |

Ground to a Halt

It’s been twenty months since the Syrian people rose up against the regime of Bashar Assad. During this time, large swathes of land in northwestern Syria have fallen out of government contr...

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...