Rumors and announcements have swirled recently regarding the presence of US troops in Syria and Iraq, and the prospect of at least a drawdown of troops taking place in one or both locations. This follows escalating violence between local militias and US forces, who have traded missiles and airstrikes amid the ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza and a resulting decline in regional security…

Military and political tensions in the Middle East around the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are gaining new momentum with a bias towards the expansion and internationalisation of the conflict – from local to regional. On the one hand, pro-Iranian forces in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq are creating a belt of high tension for Israel and the targets (military, diplomatic and commercial) of its Western allies. On the other hand, the military forces and intelligence services of the Israeli-Western…

Turkey considers the Kurdish issue among the priority threats to its national security. In this regard, the formation of a Kurdish autonomy in the territory of south-east Turkey is perceived by Ankara as an existential threat to internal security, as well as the possibility of such autonomies (and especially an independent Kurdistan) in the territory of neighboring countries (in particular, in Syria, Iraq and Iran) threatens to the Turkey’s external security. Actually, it is also not clear where tens of millions of Kurds should move to from the territories they have inhabited for many centuries…

The Kurdish issue remains a key threat to Turkey’s internal and external security. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), banned and recognised as a terrorist organisation in Turkey, somehow continues its actions against Turkish forces in northern Syria and Iraq, which is used by Ankara to conduct local military operations in neighbouring countries to suppress the resistance of Kurdish forces and destroy their military facilities. As it became known from mass media, on 22 and 23 December this year, 12 Turkish servicemen were killed as a result of attacks of PKK militants on a Turkish…

The bloody massacre perpetrated by the distraught Israeli military led by Netanyahu against the civilian population in Gaza has a very negative impact on the whole situation in neighboring countries, thereby further exacerbating the already very turbulent situation in the region. In light of recent events, there have been a number of troubling developments in Iraq, where Shia militant groups such as Kataib Hizballah, Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and Badr have been at the forefront of the unrest. The head of Badr has said that the liberation of Palestine will begin in Iraq, and many militias have set up “support rooms”…

The United States has claimed that its aircraft carrier, USS Carney, intercepted missiles and a group of drones fired from Yemen. These missiles, according to the Pentagon, were targeted by the Yemeni Houthis towards Israel. The event is significant because the United States, by defending Israel’s airspace, has directly involved itself in a war for the first time in recent memory. This involvement comes against the backdrop of rising tensions in the region, fueled by the Israel-Gaza situation…

Historically, the United States has launched several wars under numerous pretenses, ranging from anti-terrorism to human rights and democracy. The United States’ victory in the Cold War made it the sole policeman of the world. This power helped the US to impose wars on different countries. These wars inflicted chaos and turmoil in the host countries. The United States possesses a history of interfering in the internal affairs of a score of countries around the world, especially the poor nations…

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Sabbar Al-Sudani will visit Moscow in the near future, Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein announced after meeting with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. “The Iraqi side is working on completing necessary preparations for a visit by Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al Sudani to the capital Moscow during the coming weeks,” Fuad Hussein said…

Turkey and Iraq both occupy a prominent position in the Middle East, and much – not least the stability and peace of the region – depends on their foreign policies. This was amply demonstrated by the recent tense diplomatic talks between Ankara and Baghdad, which were accompanied by an exchange of ministerial visits, and which are likely to usher in important changes in relations between Turkey and Iraq. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, formerly head of the National Intelligence Agency, visited Baghdad and Erbil for the first time since he took office. Meanwhile, Iraq’s Oil Minister…

After months of political negotiations and four days of voting, Iraq’s parliament has finally approved the largest budget in the country’s history. The draft bill for the 2023 document was initially approved by the cabinet and received the green light from the legislature in June 2023. Experts believe that the planning and swift approval of this financial plan represents a telling achievement of the country’s current administration. The adopted budget amounts to a staggering 198.91 trillion Iraqi dinars, equivalent to US $153 billion. However, it has a deficit of 64.36 trillion dinars. Projected oil revenues are estimated at 117.25 trillion dinars…

Since taking office as Iraq’s president in October 2022, Mohammed Shia’ Sabbar Al-Sudani has made, or at least formally announced, a battle against corruption the centerpiece of his domestic agenda. Its progress has been, to put it mildly, underwhelming despite this long-overdue attempt to address the most difficult and crippling issue that is literally eating away at every aspect of society. An entrenched sectarian and tribal system of power sharing does not reduce systemic corruption. Iraq still struggles with inefficiency, bureaucracy, widespread kleptocracy, and a robust patronage system despite its massive oil resources…

For two decades after the 2003 brazen and unprovoked invasion by the US, Iraq has been experiencing chaos, instability and significant problems, primarily due to the destruction of their state by the Americans. Although the number of internal armed conflicts has decreased in recent years, the country still faces many complex problems that need addressing for any stability and security to be achieved in the country. This has been the result, and Iraqi media constantly writes about it, of the US aggression and the hubristic policy towards Iraq that various American administrations have pursued since 2003. One of the difficult problems…