Ideas
An End to Magical Thinking in the Middle East
It’s time to abandon the dogma that’s driven our foreign policy and led to so much disaster in the region.
Threats
US Troops, Armor Will ‘Secure’ Oil Fields in Syria, Says SecDef in New Reversal
The U.S. might also maintain “one of our two airfields that are there,” said America’s envoy to Syria to lawmakers.
Ideas
10 Ways America’s Situation in the Middle East Will Get Worse
The Syrian pullout and the Iraqi instability are undermining U.S. national-security interests.
Ideas
Ep. 53: Civilian casualty reporting and the war on ISIS with Alexa O’Brien and Chris Woods
Why has coverage been so lacking? A new report offers some answers.
Ideas
Ep. 47: Mosul, revisited (part two) with Mike Giglio and Dan Gabriel
We continue our remembrance of the Iraqi and coalition forces pushing the Islamic State group out of Mosul two years ago this week.
Ideas
Ep. 46: Mosul, revisited (part one) with Omar Mohammed of Mosul Eye
This episode we travel to Paris to meet the Iraqi historian behind secretive dispatches during the Islamic State group's occupation of Mosul.
Ideas
Take It From an Iraq War Supporter—War With Iran Would Be a Disaster
It would mean repeating a mistake, only on a much bigger scale: without allies, without justification, and without any plan at all.
Threats
A Bewildering Briefing on the Iranian Threat Leaves More Questions Than Answers
A deputy commander of the counter-ISIS coalition appeared to rebut White House claims about Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
Threats
The Flash Point Between America and Iran Could Be Iraq's Militias
U.S. troops and Iran-backed fighters had an alliance of sorts in the anti-ISIS campaign. With Washington and Tehran at odds, could they turn on each other?
Ideas
Who Are the Private Contractors Fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan?
An inside look at this invisible military force.
Ideas
The US Army Is Trying to Bury the Lessons of the Iraq War
By scuttling plans to help its leaders understand what went wrong, the service is turning a blind eye to insights of enduring relevance.
Policy
Senior Officials Downplay Trump Plan to Keep Troops In Iraq to ‘Watch Iran’
Some Baghdad watchers say the president’s remarks could imperil the U.S. troop presence in Iraq.
Threats
US Official: We May Cut Support for Iraq If New Government Seats Pro-Iran Politicians
The senior administration official’s warning is the latest tack in a largely fruitless bid to shape a new governing coalition in Baghdad.
Threats
Trump’s Latest Warning to Iran Didn’t Come out of Nowhere
The White House condemned the Islamic Republic for rocket attacks on U.S. facilities in Baghdad and Basra. Such attacks have been common—but it’s not always clear who exactly is driving them.
Threats
ISIS Never Went Away in Iraq
“You can say that almost all of Iraq has been liberated from ISIS during the day, but you can’t say that at night.”
Ideas
The Rise of Iraq's Young Secularists
On Facebook and in the cafés of decimated Mosul, they envision a country free from political Islam. Do they have a shot?
Threats
Deputy Commander in Iraq Misused Staff for Personal Tasks
IG absolves Brig. Gen. Rick Uribe of charges he wore unearned medals and skipped weigh-ins.
Threats
What the Long, Corruption-Enabling, Mostly Failed Afghanistan-Stabilization Effort Tells Us
It’s about managing expectations: ours about the timeline, the foreign population’s about governance.
Ideas
Counting the Dead in Mosul
The civilian death toll in the fight against ISIS is far higher than official estimates.
Threats
The War in Iraq Isn’t Done. Commanders Explain Why and What's Next
Senior US and Iraq officers say the 15-year fight isn’t quite finished and they need to ensure that another ISIS can’t rise.
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