The United States is Struggling to Regain Influence in Syria
Bottom Line Up Front The United States is looking to consolidate and expand its presence in the eastern provinces of Deir al-Zour and al-Hasakah, […] More
Kurds
How Foreign Leaders Play President Trump
OPINION — Donald Trump as president displays weakness toward those he envies as strong foreign leaders, while he acts like a bully toward leaders he […] More
Where’s a Whistleblower When You Need One?
OPINION – Why is there no Whistleblower in the case of President Trump’s October 6, phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan? Who was […] More
Turkey Attacks Kurdish Positions in Syria
Bottom Line Up Front On October 9, Turkey launched a cross-border offensive into northern Syria using airstrikes, artillery bombardments, and a ground invasion against […] More
The Latest
The Far-Reaching Danger of ISIS in Syria
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is defending President Trump’s decision to withdraw support for Kurdish troops in Northeast Syria, saying Turkey has a “legitimate […] More
The Limits of U.S. Influence in Syria
The White House announced Sunday that President Trump will endorse a Turkish military operation near the border with Syria that will target Kurdish forces. Turkey […] More
The U.S. Remains Incapable of Formulating a Coherent Syria Strategy
Bottom Line Up Front On December 19, 2018, President Trump unexpectedly announced a full withdrawal of all U.S. troops in Syria within the next […] More
Turkey Warns the U.S. It Will Launch Cross-Border Strikes into Syria
Bottom Line Up Front The U.S. will likely maintain an enduring military presence in Syria for years, in an extremely complex operating environment. Washington […] More
Turkey’s Greenlight in Syria Detracts from ISIS Fight
Bottom Line: The U.S. teamed with Kurdish forces to oust ISIS from its self-declared caliphate in Syria in Iraq, but now Washington’s continued support for […] More
Turks in Afrin: How Does It End?
Turkey has had considerable military success in its two-month old campaign against the Syrian Kurdish militia in the northwest Syrian border province of Afrin, but […] More
Iraq’s Real Challenge: A Constitution with a Birth Defect
The Sept. 25 Kurdish referendum has risked permanent damage to the relationship between the Kurdish Regional Government and the Iraqi government (GOI), but the blame […] More
Political Leadership of Iraqi Kurdistan in Tatters
The Kurdistan Regional Government is already suffering international blowback from its independence referendum, and now some Kurds are calling for the ouster of those who […] More
Iraq Ambassador Accuses Kurds of Kirkuk ‘Disinformation’ Campaign
Iraq’s top diplomat in Washington, D.C., cried foul Friday over Kurdish government charges that Iran backed Iraq’s campaign to retake Kirkuk. “The KRG has been […] More
The U.S. Must Fulfill Role of Negotiator Between Baghdad, Kurds
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi published an op-ed in the New York Times on Wednesday, denouncing the “illegal” referendum held by the Kurdistan Regional […] More
Inequality Is Sewn Into the Map of Iraq
This September, voters in the territories controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly to declare independence from the central government […] More
Two Rivers, Three Countries? Ethnography and Destiny in Iraq
The surprise advance of Iraqi troops into the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk on Monday raises a spectre that has haunted Iraq since the 2003 U.S. […] More
Staying Together is Hard — But Splitting is Harder
This September, voters in the territories controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly to declare independence from the central government […] More
Clashes Between Kurds and Baghdad Risk New Faultline in Iraq
Iraqi forces seized the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk on Monday, according to Kurdish and Iraqi officials, leaving Washington scrambling to respond to the surprise dawn […] More
All Eyes on Baghdad’s Response to Kurdish Independence Vote
Today, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq is holding a historic referendum on Kurdish independence. Kurds are widely expected to overwhelmingly vote Yes, a […] More