It would be naive to think that economic growth will solve all of the Middle East's thorny dilemmas; but it would be equally naive to believe that they can be solved without it. President Obama surprised many recently when he diagnosed the crisis gripping Iraq as partly an economic one, noting that Iraqi Sunnis were "detached from the global economy" and thus frustrated in ach
Read More
London (CNN) -- Luay al-Khatteeb spoke to CNN about the impact of ISIS' march through northern Iraq, and the militant group's control of some oil fields. He explained how they used the oil fields to raise funds, and how it could impact global prices. This is an edited version of the conversation. How much of Iraq's oil market do ISIS control? ISIS control just a few marginal
Read More
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, following two consecutive terms in office, has moved aside as a result of a political checkmate move by President Masum as he could no longer declare a state of emergency or dissolve Parliament, to prolong his term without the backing of Parliament and the President, who had appointed Abadi as the PM designate. President Masum, supported by the
Read More
The United States should be launching selective airstrikes on ISIS sooner rather than later, particularly where the movement attacks key dams and minority populations. The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has demonstrated remarkable strategic mobility and operational speed in a series of offensives over the past few weeks across its operating areas in Iraq and Syria. T
Read More
The political turmoil of Iraq is getting more complicated, following the event when Mosul fell into the hands of some parties beyond the government’s control, thus leading the Iraqi army to withdraw from Kirkuk and the peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to take over — the KRG announced that Kirkuk, which used to be a disputed area between it and the cen
Read More