Iraq’s International Relationships – Page 9

U.S. Do’s and Don’ts in Iraq. By Michael Knights

To ensure that new protests, new sanctions, and new political leadership wind up helping rather than hindering Iraqi sovereignty, Washington must handle upcoming developments with great care. In the coming weeks, Iraq’s parliament may appoint a replacement for Prime Minister Adil Abdulmahdi. This is a very positive development, since the country’s sundry Iranian-backed milit

Thirty years after devastating sanctions were first imposed on Iraq, President Donald Trump’s threat of new sanctions is a chilling reminder for average Iraqis of the pain, demoralization and hard choices they experienced amid policies of global economic pressure. In the fallout over the targeted killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Trump said this w

The changing geopolitical landscape for Iraq’s energy sector Much ink has been spilled over the past week assessing the current confrontation between the US and Iran following the US-ordered airstrike against Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces

As Sunday’s vote in Iraq’s parliament to expel US troops shows, the US strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani as well as Deputy Commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis has cratered US-Iraq relations by putting Iraq in the middle of the unprecedented rise in US-Iran tensions. Sunday’s vote in Iraq is very significant both in

Washington should smartly employ tougher love in the coming months, working with other nations and Iraqi moderates to improve the country’s chances of recovery from militia rule. In recent days, U.S. officials have repeatedly indicated that the relationship with Iraq is at an inflection point, but the current crisis has been a long time coming. Iran-backed militias, most pro