The dilemma is that it needs money—and will inevitably lose some to corruption. On Sunday, Haider al-Abadi, the prime minister of Iraq, visited Mosul to herald the success of his army’s nine-month struggle to recapture the city from the Islamic State. In a speech on state television the next day, he declared “the end and the failure and the collapse of the terrorist state of
Read MoreBAGHDAD — On June 27, the US Department of State’s Human Trafficking Report for 2017 took Iraq off its list, after the country had been listed in 2016 for recruiting children into combat. The move raises questions about what Iraq could have done to get Washington to take this positive position for Baghdad, despite Human Rights Watch's having said in a report issued Aug. 3
Read MoreIraqi Planning Minister Salman al-Jumaili (L) and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi pose for a picture at the UN secretary-general's office during the annual UN General Assembly, Sept. 30, 2015, in New York, New York. (photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images) Iraqi Minister of Planning Salman al-Jumaili, in an interview with Al-Monitor from his office in Baghdad, said that his
Read MoreIraq, together with UNESCO, has concluded a comprehensive aerial survey of Iraqi heritage destroyed by the Islamic State (IS), paving the way for further cooperation to restore various Iraqi sites, particularly at the 13th-century Assyrian capital of Nimrod. In mid-May, Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini handed over to his Iraqi counterpart, Friad Rwandzi, a 500-pag
Read MoreBAGHDAD — Iraqi military leaders expect victory this week against the Islamic State (IS) in the battle for Mosul, and the government has unveiled a $100 billion, 10-year reconstruction plan for the country that, despite some challenges, is slated to begin next year. Mosul will be particularly important to rebuild because of the number of citizens who were for
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