Why Washington’s War on Terror Failed

The Underrated Saudi Connection by Patrick Cockburn [This essay is excerpted from the first chapter of Patrick Cockburn’s new book, The Jihadis Return: ISIS and the New Sunni Uprising, with special thanks to his publisher, OR Books. The first section is a new introduction… Continue Reading

Israel: The Silent Stakeholder in Northern Iraq

by Marsha B. Cohen One of the more remarkable aspects of the recent news coverage of Iraq — the Maliki government’s loss of control over the northern region of the country, the deadly confrontations taking place between Iraqi Shia and Sunnis, and the… Continue Reading

The Real Causes of Iraq’s Problems

by Shireen T. Hunter The beleaguered Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, is the latest in the long list of the West’s favorite political leaders turned into pariahs. The conventional wisdom now is that Maliki’s flaws and wrong policies, especially… Continue Reading