Iraq - Blogs of War

Iraq’s Consolidation and the Kurds

Iraq has made surprising gains in its effort to undermine or eliminate Kurdish autonomy since mid-October when we first visited this issue. Phillip Smyth joins me again to look at recent developments and the potential implications.

Covert Contact

The Kurdish Problem

Phillip Smyth joins me to look at the complexities surrounding the Kurdish drive for independence and how that looks to play out given the recent setback.

Iraq

Ambassador Lukman Faily on Iraq's Future, the Travel Ban, and ISIS

Lukman Faily served as Iraq’s ambassador to the United States for three years. He left that post, and the Iraqi Foreign Service, in 2016. A lot has transpired since our last chat and we plan to follow this short exchange with a more in depth discussion on Covert Contact soon.

Iraq

Letters from Operation Desert Shield

I was digging through some old boxes this evening and found some letters that have been stashed away for twenty-five years. The letters themselves don’t reveal much but it struck me how that time, the lead-up to the first Gulf War, was just so different. That war had its

Iraq

Iraq's Ambassador to the United States, Lukman Faily, Updates Blogs of War on the ISIL Threat

Ambassador Faily was kind enough to take some additional questions. I originally submitted these questions to him the day before there were widespread reports of, if not a coup, at least a difficult political transition in Baghdad. That situation has since stabilized somewhat but the environment remains challenging. You can

Iraq

The Islamic State Will Not Survive - Despite Its Big Gains

I am firmly in the camp which believes that ISIS, now known as the Islamic State, has overplayed its hand. They’re smart, organized, well-led, and now resource rich but they are also betting everything on a strategy that creates more enemies than allies and which will eventually force many

Iraq

ISIS Declares Caliphate - Rebrands as "The Islamic State"

It was clear that ISIS was on a mad dash to consolidate power. They have worked overtime to leverage the spoils of war, new recruits and recent territorial gains. But yesterday’s announcement makes it exceedingly clear that they are going all-in on this one. And, lest you have any

Iraq

A Brief Chat with Iraq's Ambassador to the United States, Lukman Faily

Ambassador Faily and I have traded tweets for some time now but I am honored that he agreed to take time out what must be an overwhelming schedule to answer a very short list of questions for Blogs of War readers. You can follow Ambassador Faily on Twitter @FailyLukman. John

Iraq

Why The Spectacular Success of ISIS Will Be Its Eventual Undoing

No Western politician wants to commit forces to Iraq right now. The world has demonstrated an amazingly high tolerance for terrorism and bloodshed in the country. And the current leadership is showing every sign of not being up to the task of defending itself. But with ISIS exploding into a

Iraq

Understanding ISIS and Their Rampage Through Iraq

There is a widespread tendency for people to refer to any frightening group of Islamists as al-Qaeda. It’s sort of like Texans referring to any sort of soft drink as a “coke”. However, details matter when we’re trying to understand the actions of heavily armed and dangerously violent