SUMMARY: It is not clear who will take control if Mosul is liberated from the Islamic State, but Turkey and its allies want nothing more than to prevent the Kurds from declaring a semi-autonomous state in the region. For months now, the Turkish army has repeatedly targeted IS from positions they hold 15 kilometers (9 miles) northeast of Mosul. “The main goal of this base is t
Read More
FOREWORD In 2007, the Government of Iraq requested OECD support to help identify and support policy reforms through research, policy dialogue, and capacity building. Since then, the OECD Iraq Project has assisted the Iraqi government in a wide range of economic policy initiatives in the areas of infrastructure finance, developing and implementing economic zones, and public p
Read More
Saudi Arabia appointed an Ambassador to Iraq in December 2015, ending its 25 years of diplomatic boycott that followed the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Although the cause of the boycott, Saddam Hussein’s regime, was removed in 2003 at the hands of its American allies, Saudi Arabia resisted relentless efforts by the U.S. to restore its diplomatic relations with post-Saddam
Read More
BABIL, Iraq — As preparations continue to have Babylon recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017, the city of Borsippa, which is 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, is on the top of the list of archaeological sites that are most likely to be inscribed on the world list, as the city has not witnessed any construction changes beyon
Read More
Representatives of the Kurdistan Regional Government (K.R.G.) are currently in the process of shaping the information environment ahead of a desired referendum on Kurdish independence. Aside from a lobbying campaign strongly focused on Washington—the K.R.G. has spent more on lobbying in the United States than Pakistan—leaders have been making provocative statements regarding
Read More