The Moral Hazard of the Fight Against the Islamic State in Iraq
In a recent War on the Rocks podcast, Ryan Evans interviews Basam Ridha al-Hussaini, a special representative of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, about the state of affairs in Iraq and, in particular, the Popular Mobilization Units — a collection of government-sanctioned militias that currently augment state security in Iraq. It is a short segment …
Hacking Defense and Iraq’s Controversial Security Groups
We have a two-parter for you in this episode. First, WOTR’s Ryan Evans spoke with Steve Blank of Silicon Valley fame about his new course, “Hacking Defense.” The class just launched at Stanford, but Steve has plans to proliferate it around the country. Will this course help change the way we approach national defense? Next, …
Known Unknowns: Iraqi WMD, 13 Years Later
“…it seems to me the president, given the facts he had from the intelligence community, made the right decision. In retrospect, they didn’t find large caches of chemical or biological weapons.” — Donald Rumsfeld, The Late Show, January 25, 2016 John Walcott recently reviewed a 2002 Pentagon memo written by Secretary of Defense Donald …
The War in Iraq against the Islamic State After Paris
Despite a series of attacks in Paris, Beirut, Baghdad and (probably) a Russian airliner in Egypt, the military news from Iraq is cautiously good. Those who predicted the eventual defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seem to be on solid ground. The recent seizure of Sinjar and the key roads …
Should the U.S. Send Ground Troops to Fight ISIL in Iraq? Point/Counter-Point
Over at Task & Purpose, James Cook U.S. Naval War College and Ryan Evans of War on the Rocks square off over this question: Should Washington dispatch U.S. ground forces to fight the Islamic State on Iraqi territory? What do you think? You can weigh in with your vote.
Doting Father and Feminist: The Other Side of Saddam’s Half-Brother, the Head of the Iraqi Secret Police
Some know him as Saddam Hussein’s half-brother, some remember him as the head of the Mukhabarat, the dreaded Iraqi intelligence agency, and others recall the graphic image of his decapitated head after a botched hanging in 2007. For a man whose name means prominent or famous in Arabic, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti has left an interesting …
Vietnam Teaches Us that Iraq Needs More than U.S. Combat Advisers
The campaign against the Islamic State seems stalled, with no meaningful progress in sight. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, in an interview with Stars and Stripes on the eve of his retirement from the Army, was characteristically blunt, noting that the war is “kind of a stalemate.” He also stated that the United States “could defeat the Islamic State with …
Iraq after Ramadi: Saving the Anti-ISIL Strategy
The seizure of Ramadi on May 17 by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was a tactical defeat for the Iraqi Army, the Iraqi government, and — by extension — the U.S.-led coalition. ISIL had a good day; Iraq and its allies had a bad day. Losing Ramadi makes the task ahead …
PODCAST: The Islamic State’s War in Iraq and Syria
This is the podcast in which War on the Rocks fixes the Middle East…ok, we kid, but it is a fascinating conversation with some of the most astute and informed U.S. experts on Iraq and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Have a listen! We were joined by: J.M. Berger, author of …
A Collapsing Regional Order: Turkey’s Troubles in Iraq and Syria
Turkey continues to be a frustrating ally for the United States, with Ankara’s reluctance to allow for, or engage in kinetic strikes against the Islamic State emerging as the key source of divergence between the two old allies. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is ultimately governed by its regional interests. These interests, however, …
Iraq after the Islamic State: Politics Rule
The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) – known by most people in the Middle East as Daesh – will lose its battle to hold territory in Iraq. It may well take one to two years to reduce their defenses in cities like Mosul, Tikrit, and Fallujah, but the ultimate outcome is no …
Getting to Iraqi Ownership of Iraqi Security
“This has to be about you. This has to be your campaign plan.” This is what the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey said to Iraqi leaders when he visited the country in the fall of 2014. General Dempsey delivered his most extensive public remarks on efforts to counter the Islamic …
Ollivant in AJAM: Iraq will continue to need a strong central government
Soft partition, strong federalism, devolution of power — these are all terms bandied about when it comes to the future of Iraq. Formal partition has never been a serious option, at least not among those who hope for a reduction of rather than an increase in bloodshed. The intermingling of Shia and Sunni, Arab and …
Saving Iraq and Destroying ISIL are Not the Same Thing
It has been reported that President Obama is revisiting his policy toward Syria. Perhaps he is now pausing to assess, before incautiously and unadvisedly wading into a conflict with no clear or imaginable resolution. But before he leads America into the next season of a regional conflict he wants a better plan, and he has …
War, Interrupted, Part I: The Roots of the Jihadist Resurgence in Iraq
Editor’s Note: This is part one of a two-part series. A popular narrative holds that the surprising recent events in Iraq can be attributed mainly to the unraveling of Syria. The story goes something like this: beleaguered in Iraq since 2008, the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq moved into Syria once the …
