Policy Analysis

While the very earliest civilizations in Iraq grew up around the gifts of the Tigris and Euphrates, millions of Iraqis from the North to the newly revived southern Marshes are at risk from the actions of Iraq’s northern and astern neighbors. Turkey and Iran’s increased limiting of water of the

In June, Turkey and the United States announced that they had agreed to implement a roadmap to promote peace in the Syrian city of Manbij, which has been under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces since the 2016 expulsion of ISIS. The agreement came as part of U.S. efforts

According to one Kurdish proverb, “the Kurd loses at the negotiating table in hours what he has gained on the battlefield over years.” Indeed, although in recent years Syrian Kurdish organizations have demonstrated their military effectiveness in the war against the Islamic State, they have so far been unable to

For decades, Kurds have been accused of support for Israel and opposition to the Palestinian cause. But besides the ethnic dispute, the real issue between Kurds and Arabs is that one side wants to drag the other into participating in its wars. At the same time, Turkish and Iranian media

1- How Should the New U.S. President Play the "Kurdish Card" in the Middle East? Frzand Sherko - January 10, 2017 Kurdish researcher Frzand Sherko argues that while the next U.S. administration may no longer want to play a direct role in the Middle East, they can still leverage the

February 28, 2018 This piece by Firas Elias presents a best-case scenario for the Turkish operation in Afrin. It suggests that Ankara’s action may deny Iran access to the Mediterranean, disrupt or even reverse the Damascus regime’s gains in the crucial hinterland of Aleppo, and pit IS against Iranian proxies

February 27, 2018 The latest Iranian reaction to the Turkish military operation against the Kurds in Syria’s northwest province of Afrin highlights the political complexity of the Syrian case. Though Turkey and Iran have previously demonstrated a high level of political agreement regarding the Kurdish issue in northern Syria, including

This week's unusual public visit to Jerusalem by Omani foreign minister Yusuf bin Alawi called attention to an intriguing recent trend. At the meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on December 13, 2017, convened in response to President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the

The strategic interests of Jordan and Israel overlap to a remarkable, multilayered fashion. Both countries have shared the unenviable position of being primary targets of Arab, Islamist, and other radicals since their respective founding in 1946 and 1948. Yet their common challenges have not obviated real and recurring divergences of

With tensions between Turkey and the UAE on the rise, regional conflicts, from Libya to Syria, are now being influenced by the rivalry.

February 01, 2018 Arab and Western circles are anticipating the possibility of change in Iraq and some distancing from Iran. However, the basic fact is that Iraq is going through a very complex change that is transforming it into a province of Iran, fully tied to Iran politically, economically, and

November 29, 2017 As the peaceful phase of the Syrian revolution gave way to a destructive sectarian conflict and terrorist organizations gained prominence, hundreds of thousands of Syrian Kurds fled to Iraqi Kurdistan seeking security and job opportunities. Syrian Kurds welcomed Iraqi Kurdistan’s recent independence referendum, whether they were in

August 25, 2017 In the prolonged search for a solution, the Syrian conflict has influenced Russian-Turkish relations greatly, causing either tension or rapprochement depending on each country’s often conflicting interests. But the major change occurred after Turkey’s failed coup and Russia’s supportive position towards the Turkish regime afterwards. As a

August 22, 2017 At a May 4, 2017 meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi was the apparent subject of criticism from Bahrain’s Interior Minister, Rashid al-Khalifa. Khalifa discussed the threat posed by Iraq’s complicity in some elements of the Hashd al-Shaabi (PMU) and Iran providing

Turkey has come to see the Iraqi city of Mosul as a representation of the geopolitical balance with other states in the region. The area Mosul is not only important for its size, population, and resources, but also for its location. Sitting on the border between Turkey and Syria, it

It is strange to hear talk of an alliance between Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose competition is notorious. The two states, who have clashed in multiple countries, now find themselves in a new political situation which may force them to work together. At the very least they may have to

Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States administration divided the world conceptually into good and evil blocs, with most of the evil blocs located in the Middle East. Pushing al-Qaeda out, toppling the Taliban in Afghanistan, and overthrowing the Ba’ath regime in Iraq further inspired the White House

Why is Turkey suddenly passionate about helping fight Da’esh?

If a case can be made for a country too big to fail in the Middle East, it would be Turkey.

What is striking today are the historical similarities between the first Ottoman venture in Northern Iraq and the current deployment of Turkish troops in Bashiqa and other areas of Iraqi Kurdistan.