SULAIMANIYAH, Kurdistan Region of Iraq — The political establishment in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is divided in opposition to and support for holding a referendum on independence and what the government's priorities should otherwise be. One possible casualty of the dispute is Alaa Talabani, who was relieved of her position as head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdist
Read MoreUNICEF Representative in Iraq Peter Hawkins recently visited schools in Anbar province. As tens of thousands of families return to Anbar, UNICEF is rehabilitating 100 schools and in August launched a ‘Back to School’ campaign to reach about 70,000 girls, boys and families to encourage enrollment. I visited Anbar earlier this year shortly after military operations had
Read MoreSince I started researching and polling public opinion in Iraq in 2003, I cannot remember more interesting findings than the ones from the recent nationwide survey conducted a few weeks ago. In general - and as a rule since 2003 - hundreds of previous quantitative and qualitative studies have shown that sectarian divisions are the key determinants Iraqi public opinion. Kurds
Read MoreThe Kurdish Regional Government's decision to hold an independence referendum in September, despite Baghdad's opposition, is expected to stir tensions in the region and could cause a row, particularly with its northern neighbor, Turkey The announcement made by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) that the semi-autonomous region will hold an independence referendum on Sept
Read MoreIts Arab communities and the Kurds need to decide on their political status US leadership of the international coalition against Isis has brought Iraq to the brink of defeating the terrorists who took control of a third of the country. Thanks to the efforts of the Iraqi security forces, the Peshmerga and Hashd al-Shaabi, Isis will soon be pushed out of Mosul. Iraqi Prime Min
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