The Kurdish Quest for Independence
On September 25, Iraqi Kurdistan is set to hold a referendum on independence. There are plenty of strong voices around the globe in support of […] More
Kurdistan
The Kurds Can Fight: Now They Need to Govern
Iraqi Kurdistan has been relatively stable in an otherwise troubled region. Unhappy with Iraq as their home, Kurds have fought successive Iraqi regimes since being […] More
Kurdish Gains Spur New Assad Game Plan
The Syrian regime’s bombing of Syrian Kurdish forces in the country’s far northeast is a notable change in strategy, illustrating just how concerned Damascus is […] More
ISIS' Chemical Weapon Use: A Serious Threat On The Rise
With the world watching, ISIS deployed chemical weapons in the Iraqi towns of Sinjar and Taza in February and March of 2016, respectively. Since gaining […] More
The Latest
Kurdistan as a Geopolitical Playground
The region often referred to as Kurdistan, split between four areas in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, has long played a role as a conflicted […] More
An Ancient Strategic Riddle
The systemic and historical structure of Turkish-Iranian competition over Kurdish geography is one of the oldest geostrategic riddles of the Middle East. Through its long […] More
The Forgotten Dimension of the Syrian Conflict
The complex proxy war in Syria has demonstrated both the reach and limitations of Iran’s strategic influence. By mobilizing a wide range of strategic, tactical, […] More
The Push for Kurdish Independence
As Kurdish forces battle the Islamic State (ISIS) on the frontlines in Iraq and Syria and the government in Baghdad struggles to preserve a cohesive […] More
When, Not If?
For much of the past century, the Kurds have rebelled against their respective rulers only to be brutally crushed each time. The 21st century is […] More
The Right to Determine Our Future
In an exclusive interview with The Cipher Brief, Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to the United States, discussed the current security and […] More
The Great Unraveling
In the past five years, the Middle East has suffered from a double collapse. First, having proven unable to provide capable political institutions or economic […] More
The End of the Beginning
A couple years ago, when the Middle East was in turmoil but considerably less complicated than today, I was at a small gathering of foreign […] More
The Future of the Middle East
The chaos we’re seeing today throughout the Mideast continues to escalate and shows no signs of subsiding. The United States and the West seem unwilling […] More
Can Baghdad Step Up?
Victory in Ramadi City against ISIS by the Iraqi Army, despite ISIS holdouts, has given a shot in the arm to the Iraqi government and […] More
No Signs of Improvement
In Iraq, the fight to rid the country of the Islamic State (referred to colloquially in Arabic as Daesh) is taking longer than officials and […] More
The Future of Kurdistan
Kurdistan is a transnational patchwork quilt of territories spread across Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq. Though only six million out of a total of 32 […] More