by Shireen Hunter Last week, the Iraqi Shia cleric and the leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr paid an official visit to Saudi Arabia and met with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the power behind the throne. In… Continue Reading
by Giorgio Cafiero As Iraqis celebrate Mosul’s liberation from the Islamic State (ISIS or IS), their country’s future is anything but certain. Although it is premature to conclude that the fight against IS in Iraq is over, the Trump administration’s… Continue Reading
by Mark Fitzpatrick Where were you when the US invaded Iraq 15 years ago? I was an acting Deputy Assistant Secretary at the State Department, with an inside view on the decision-making process. My colleagues in the department’s Intelligence and… Continue Reading
by Paul Pillar The recent bill imposing sanctions on Russia, Iran, and North Korea, which President Trump is signing in the face of the veto-proof majorities by which Congress passed the measure, partly reflects the peculiar relationships Trump has with… Continue Reading
by Maximilian Beauchene On July 4, 2014, the first Friday of Ramadan, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi climbed to the pulpit of the Great Nur al-Din Mosque in Mosul to announce his self-proclaimed caliphate. His declaration was a historic milestone in the post-9/11… Continue Reading