WASHINGTON — Iraq is facing major financial pressure, and the war against the Islamic State grinds on. The last thing the country needs is a major political crisis. But that’s exactly what appears to be in the works — unless the United States and Iran work together to help the prime minister avoid it. The latest troubles began on March 31, when Haider al-Abadi, Iraq’s prime mi
Read More
If the semi-autonomous government goes bankrupt, the war against the caliphate could go belly-up. Iraqi Kurdistan’s fight against ISIS has for many Kurds been an existential battle central to their survival and that of their autonomous region in Iraq. However, with ISIS prevented from embarking upon Kurdistan’s major towns and cities, thanks to the efforts of the Kurdish Peshm
Read More
New projects are announced with investors of doubtful credibility Once upon a time in 2010, the then Iraqi Minister of Oil Hussain Shahristani — otherwise known as the “Teacher”, from recent exposes — was invited to the parliament to speak about the petroleum product shortages in the country. The refineries were not meeting domestic demand due to a 70 per cent utilisat
Read More
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a region of extremes. It has the highest unemployment rate in the developing world, with the rate for women and young people double the average. Its economies are among the least diversified, with the Herfindahl index—a measure of the concentration of exports in a few commodities—ranging between 0.6 and 1 for most countries. The regio
Read More
Editors’ Note: Brookings senior fellow Kenneth M. Pollack traveled to Iraq from March 9 to March 19 with Michael Knights of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The trip was sponsored in part by the Atlantic Council's Task Force on the Future of Iraq. They had extensive meetings in Baghdad, Sulaymaniyyah, and Irbil with Iraqi, Kurdish, American, and British officials.
Read More