Congressional Testimony: Countering Iranian Proxies in Iraq

Institute for the Study of War (ISW) President Kimberly Kagan testified before a September 26, 2018 hearing of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade. The hearing, titled "Countering Iranian Proxies in Iraq," can be viewed online.

SUBMITTED TESTIMONY OF KIMBERLY KAGAN:

Chairman Poe, Ranking Member Keating, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to testify on this important topic.

The United States has enduring national security requirements in Iraq.  The hard-fought gains of the United States, its global coalition, and the Iraqi people to expel the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) from its strongholds, including Mosul, are necessary but insufficient to ensure long-term American interests in Iraq.  The endurance of those gains is threatened, moreover, by factional fighting and major governance failures throughout Iraq that have led both to widespread popular protests and to the mobilization of armed groups.

Continue reading the testimony here (.PDF).

RELATED READINGS:

• Kimberly Kagan and Frederick W. Kagan, "The U.S. Can Defuse Iraq's Crisis," The Wall Street Journal, September 12, 2018 (EXTERNAL LINK)