Gallup started listening to the voices of the Iraqi people shortly after the invasion and has been back to interview them every year since 2008. On the 20th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, we explore how Iraqis see their lives now and how their views have evolved over time. The question of whether life in Iraq is better or worse now than 20 years ago has no definit
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As part of a continued collaboration with the Middle East Peace and Security Forum held in Iraqi Kurdistan at the American University of Kurdistan, the Middle East Institute and the Iraq Policy Group held a workshop on Nov. 15, 2022 focusing on challenges of economic diversification, energy transition, and impacts on labor markets in Iraq and the Gulf region. Our one-day worksh
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In the past week, a series of court orders were issued against me including freezing of my assets and the issue of a warrant for my arrest. These measures were related to the so-called theft of the century. The charge against me was specifically for “facilitating the theft of the trust accounts of the tax authority.” I have no detailed information as to what these charges are b
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(Beirut) – Iraq’s environmental activists are facing threats, harassment, and arbitrary detention by government officials and armed groups, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 16, 2023, leading Iraqi environmentalist Jassim al-Asadi was released after being abducted on February 1 by an unidentified armed group and held for more than two weeks. Al-Asadi said in a TV in
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As global oil prices soar, smugglers are exploiting the lucrative profit margin between Iraq’s subsidized fuel and black-market rates elsewhere. Smugglers move the country’s oil to and through the contested Kurdish region, exacerbating nationwide shortages and depriving the state of much-needed income. These illicit oil flows are also funding Iranian-backed militias, creating b
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