Masrour Barzani: Kurdish independence would help defeat IS

Masrour Barzani, chief of the Iraqi Kurdish intelligence services, talks to Al-Monitor about delays in international support against the Islamic State.

Iraq

IS threat could push Jordan beyond its borders

Despite the imminent terrorist threat, some Jordanians reject the necessity to intervene in Syrian and Iraqi territory.

Iraq

Iraq's defunct military industry

Some Iraqi parties are calling for the reactivation of the Military Industry Commission, a relic of Saddam Hussein's rule, in order to jump-start investment.

Iraq

Security situation weighs on Iraq's economy

The wars that befell Iraq have negatively impacted the country’s economy, spiking its poverty rates and driving some to distrust what seems to be a temporary solution to the crisis the government seems inclined to adopt.

Iraq

Leaked cables show Gulf leery of Shiite expansion

The Gulf states are concerned about the growing influence of Shiites in neighboring countries, expressing their fears of the relations established between the Shiites of Iran and Iraq and their own Shiite communities.

Saudi Arabia

Iraqi children use art to confront trauma

Militarization continues to sweep over Iraqi society and has had a profound impact on children, whose artistic creations are now imbued with images of war and violence.

Iraq

The Islamic State's first year

The Islamic State celebrates its first year anniversary amid military and strategic successes, while its regional and international enemies remain ever more confused.

Iraq

Displaced Iraqis still wait to return home

Amid accusations of affiliation with the Islamic State and an uncompleted demining process in the liberated areas, most of Iraq's displaced have yet to return to their cities.

Iraq

KRG seeks $5 billion lifeline

Kurdish parliamentarians rejected the KRG's move to borrow $5 billion from international banks in light of a severe budget deficit, arguing that this would impose a heavy burden on the government itself and on the economy.

Iraq

Erbil refugee camp prioritizes education

As more than 1.5 million internally displaced people and refugees fled to the more secure regions of Iraqi Kurdistan, Father Douglas al-Bazi established a refugee camp focusing on the education and cultural development of children.

Iraq

Blood money marriage makes comeback in Iraq

Despite protests, and being banned since the 1950s, fasliya marriage has re-emerged among Iraqi tribes.

Iraq

Saudis' war effort struggles on three fronts

The two contenders to the Saudi throne need signs of impending victory in their battles against the Houthis to secure their legitimacy to lead.

Legacy: Gulf