The United States invaded the Levant 15 years ago – but the region’s scorched-earth ideology has kept the fire burning. A burning mural of Saddam Hussein in Kirkuk on April 11, 2003. (Patrick Barth/Getty Images) The United States intervened militarily in Iraq in 2003, 15 years ago this month, and the result was war and chaos. But the United States did not intervene in Syria i
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In the years since the U.S. invaded in March 2003, Iraq has seen two occupations — one by U.S. forces following the removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime, and another by Islamic State militants after American forces withdrew. Now, after fifteen years of instability and war, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is trying to forge a lasting peace. That could be almost as tough as fight
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In the years since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, American promises of turning the country into a model democracy, spreading freedom across the Middle East, have often seemed like cruel mockery. By the time the U.S. withdrew in 2011, Iraq had been ravaged by bloody insurgencies and sectarian massacres that killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and more than 4,500 America
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BAGHDAD — In June 2014, the cover of Time magazine echoed a sentiment common among pundits and outsiders: “The End of Iraq,” it read. I am proud to say that three years later, thanks to the Iraqi armed forces and the Iraqi people, these predictions were wrong. Since then, Iraq has steadily dealt defeats to the Islamic State, also known as Daesh, a vicious enemy that has threa
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A transcript of an interview Saturday 16th. of September 2017 with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi by The Associated Press. AP: Thank you mister prime minister for having The Associated Press here in Baghdad. Al-Abadi: Welcome. AP: I’m going to start off by asking you about the referendum that is upcoming in the Kurdish region in Iraq. It appears the referendum is go
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