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Turkey is using a combination of military and diplomatic pressure to compel Russia and Iran to halt further offensive operations against Syria’s al Qaeda dominated Idlib Province. An Assad-Iranian-Russian conquest of Idlib is not in America’s national security interest.
Iraqi Kurdistan’s drive for independence is generating new regional alignments that deepen Iranian – and potentially Russian – influence in Iraq at the expense of the United States. Turkey, Iran, and Iraq adopted a coordinated, aggressive force posture in retaliation for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) independence referendum on September 25, 2017.
The conclusion of an agreement between Turkey and the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition to open Turkish airbases for coalition aircraft conducting sorties against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) marks a major shift in Turkish policy which will provide immediate boost to U.S. efforts to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIS.
At NATO’s summit in Chicago over the weekend, the focus will be on Afghanistan, and following President Barack Obama’s decision to transition security leadership to Afghans by mid-2013, international leaders will be pressed to make long-term commitments for the transition there.
As participants head to Baghdad for this week’s Arab League Summit, the Institute for the Study of War takes stock of the opportunities and challenges for Arab leaders at the conference.
More than 400 people have died in Iraq since the U.S. withdrawal in mid-December. Coupled with the political struggles that broke out days after U.S. troops departed, Iraq’s worsening instability leaves little hope for developments that could augur an end to the crisis.
January 28-February 3, 2012. Iraqiyya Returns to Parliament, Three Options to Resolve the Mutlaq Case, Some Positive Signs for National Conference.
Kimberly Kagan is the founder and president of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a nonprofit, non-partisan organization with a unique, dual mission: provide real-time intelligence to help leaders make informed decisions in conflict zones around the world, and educate the next generation of national security leaders. ISW is globally recognized and cited for its daily analysis and maps of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This paper describes the structure of the KRG’s political bodies and offices, the major parties, and the mechanics of the July 25th election.