Ali Abel Sadah - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Ali Abel Sadah

Ali Abel Sadah is a Baghdad-based writer for both Iraqi and Arab media. He has been a managing editor for local newspapers as well as a political and cultural reporter for more than 10 years.

Iraqi Sunni Muslims participate in an anti-government demonstration in Falluja, 50 km (31 miles) west of Baghdad May 3, 2013. Tens of thousands of Sunni Muslims poured onto the streets of Ramadi and Falluja in the western province of Anbar following Friday prayers, in their biggest show of strength since the outbreak of protests last year. REUTERS/Mohanned Faisal (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZ985

Truce Proposal Splits Sunni Protesters in Iraq

Iraqis carry a poster of top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani during a demonstration in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad June 13, 2007. Dozens of residents took to the streets in Najaf protesting the latest bomb attack in Samarra's Golden Mosque Shi'ite shrine. REUTERS/Ali Abu Shish (IRAQ) - RTR1QQY3

Could Sistani Be Iraq’s Last Hope?

A masked Iraqi gunman stands guard near a civilian vehicle after attacking it in Ramadi, 100 km (62 miles) west of Baghdad April 27, 2013. At least five Iraqi soldiers in civilian clothes were killed and one wounded when gunmen attacked their vehicle Ramadi, Anbar Governorate, early Saturday, police sources said.
REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZ1LB

Sunni Tribes in Anbar, Kirkuk Prepare for Battle

Sunni Muslims take part in an anti-government demonstration in Falluja, 50 km (31 miles) west of Baghdad April 26, 2013. Tens of thousands of Sunni Muslims poured onto the streets of Ramadi and Falluja in the western province of Anbar following Friday prayers, in protest at the perceived marginalisation of their sect since the U.S.-led invasion overthrew Saddam Hussein and empowered majority Shi'ites through the ballot box. REUTERS/Mohanned Faisal (IRAQ - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZ11Y

Iraqi Sectarian Violence Spreads After Hawija Deaths

Iraqi election officials empty a ballot box before counting the votes in a constitutional referendum after the closing of a polling station in Basra, 420 km (261 miles) southeast of Baghdad April 20, 2013. Voter participation in Iraq's provincial election on Saturday was 50 percent of eligible voters, the country's electoral authorities said after poll stations closed. Election officials said including results from a special vote a week earlier for members of the armed forces, total participation would be m

Maliki Falls Short of Majority In Early Election Returns

An employee of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) sits on ballot boxes at a tally center in Baghdad April 23, 2013.Voter participation in Iraq's provincial election on Saturday was 50 percent of eligible voters, the country's electoral authorities said after poll stations closed. Election officials said including results from a special vote a week earlier for members of the armed forces, total participation would be more than 51 percent. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS)

Low Turnout in Iraqi Elections

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani (R) and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani talk during an event to mark the official start of oil exports from the autonomous region of Kurdistan, in the northern Kurdish city of Arbil June 1, 2009. Iraq's Kurdistan region said on Monday it hoped to be producing 1 million barrels per day of oil within the next 2-3 years, despite discord with the Arab-led government in Baghdad over Iraq's oil wealth. REUTERS/Safin Hamed/Pool (IRAQ CONFLICT ENERGY BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR245LU

President's Absence Complicates Iraqi Politics

Residents gather at the site of a car bomb attack in the Kamaliya district in Baghdad April 15, 2013. Car bombs and attacks on cities across Iraq, including two blasts at a checkpoint at Baghdad international airport, killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 200 on Monday, police said. The wave of attacks in Baghdad, Kirkuk, Tuz Khurmato and other towns to the north to south, came days before Iraqis vote in provincial elections that will test political stability more than a year after U.S. troops lef

Iraqi Provincial Elections Bring Wave of Violence, Assassination

Iraqi soldiers vote at a polling station in Basra, 420 km (261 miles) southeast of Baghdad April 13, 2013. Members of the Iraqi security forces head to polling stations on Saturday in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces to cast their ballot in the 2013 provincial council election. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTXYK1D

Iraqi Army Voting Mired In Factional Politics

Iraqi Sunni Muslims take part in an anti-government demonstration in Falluja, 50 km (31 miles) west of Baghdad, April 5, 2013. Thousands of Sunni Muslims protested after Friday prayers in huge rallies against Shi'ite Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, demanding that he step down. REUTERS/Mohanned Faisal (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) CIVIL UNREST) - RTXY9JG

Maliki Faces Tough Political Choices Ahead of Election

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Iraq's Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi (R) in Baghdad March 24, 2013. Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and will urge Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to make sure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry arms and fighters to Syria, a U.S. official said. REUTERS/Jason Reed (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXXVNF

Iraqi Speaker: Maliki Could Resort To Military Force Against Opponents

The room where Iraq's parliament was to meet today, for only the second time since it was elected in December, remains empty after politicians cancelled today's session, April 20, 2006. Iraq's Shi'ite Alliance said on Thursday it would hold a new internal vote to name a prime minister, raising the possibility that Ibrahim al-Jaafari will be removed to end a months-long impasse over a unity government. REUTERS/Ahmad Rubaye/Pool - RTR1CMS1

Iraq: The Parliament That Barely Meets