Viewpoints

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IraqDemocracy and Governance
Elections in Iraq: Getting Closer to Democracy?
Oct 6, 2021Rend Al-Rahim
Iraq’s parliamentary elections, set for October 10, 2021, represent the sixth national poll since 2003. Iraqi President Barham Salih described them1 as “critic…
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Iraq
Iran’s Presidential Election as Viewed in Iraq
Jun 29, 2021Abdulwahab Al-Qassab
All political developments in Iran have serious repercussions in Iraq, and the election of Ibrahim Raisi as president of the Islamic Republic is no different. …
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IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
Time to Address Impunity in Iraq
Jun 4, 2021Abdulwahab Al-Qassab
On May 26, Iraqi security forces arrested General Qasim Muslih, commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Anbar province, basing their action on…
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IraqIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
A Struggle of Wills over Iraq’s Identity
Mar 30, 2021Abdulwahab Al-Qassab
The last few days witnessed serious efforts by some Arab countries to influence developments in Iran-friendly Iraq. On March 24, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohamm…
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IraqViolent Extremism
The Terrorist Attacks in Baghdad: A New Chapter in Iraq’s Instability?
Feb 3, 2021Abdulwahab Al-Qassab
Abdulwahab Al-Qassab writes that the latest suicide bombings in Baghdad portend a feared return of the Islamic State after it was supposedly vanquished in Dece…
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IraqUS Foreign Policy
Iraq’s Mustafa Al-Kadhimi Comes to Washington
Aug 18, 2020Abdulwahab Al-Qassab
Abdulwahab Al-Qassab previews Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi’s upcoming visit to Washington and writes that the American capital may be too preoccupie…
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IraqUS Foreign Policy
The Coming American Defeat in Iraq
Jan 6, 2020Marina Ottaway
The vote by Iraq’s Parliament to force the withdrawal of American troops from the country marks the beginning of the end of the 2003 US intervention.
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IranUS Foreign Policy
A Middle East Calamity Is about to Unfold
Jan 3, 2020Imad K. Harb
Killing Soleimani has put the Middle East at the edge of a dangerous abyss and hastened an inevitable confrontation between the United States and Iran.