Iraq's new YouTube satirist

"Al-Bashir Show" is an irreverent take on Iraqi politics in a country where most media outlets are afraid of criticizing politicians.

Iraq

Iraq's unified 'National Guard' may be impossible

Iraq's prime minister has proposed the formation of a National Guard that would unify the ranks of Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish forces.

Iraq

Iraqi Kurds unhappy partners in Abadi's government

The Kurdish position in internal Iraqi politics has been weakened by the fight with the Islamic State, resulting in a new Iraqi government that largely ignores their demands.

Iraq

Obama needs peace in Syria to defeat IS

Syria’s internal opposition says defeating the Islamic State is impossible without finding a solution to Syria’s civil war.

Iraq

Turkey rows against the tide

Ideological assumptions based on Islamist and Sunni sympathies, as well as a series of bad judgments, leave Turkey with diminished influence in a region where it once hoped to play a leadership role.

Iraq

Israel skeptical about US strategy on IS

While the US finds a new interlocutor in Israel's opposition leader, the Israeli security establishment is not reassured by President Barack Obama's latest speech, since it fears that much like Hamas, the Islamic State cannot be defeated by airstrikes alone.

Iraq

Abadi's new government will face challenges

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the formation of the new Iraqi government and vowed to answer the demands put forth by political blocs.

Iraq

Hezbollah parliamentarian: We will defend Lebanon from IS

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayyad said Lebanon was under direct threat from the Islamic State and that Hezbollah stood ready to confront it.

Saudi Arabia

US-Iran cooperation on IS makes Israel uneasy

Although Israel is increasingly uneasy about the possibility of US-Iran cooperation in fighting the Islamic State, Israeli security officials say the emergence of a regional Islamic caliphate would be a strategic disaster.

Palestine

Modern-day 'cultural Sinbad' spreads literature across Iraq

Star Mohsen Ali is unique in his travels across Iraq's provinces to sell and promote books to a generation increasingly thirsty for literature.

Iraq

New jihadist generation in Lebanon

With the latest security clashes between Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra members and the Lebanese army, it seems that Salafism is shifting its priorities to Lebanon.

Iraq

Is Turkey the weakest link in anti-IS coalition?

Held back by political weaknesses and ideological constraints, Ankara is likely to be the weakest and most reluctant member of the planned coalition against the Islamic State.

Iraq