Congress Fuels Christian Rivalries With Bid to Arm Iraqi Militias

Congress Fuels Christian Rivalries With Bid to Arm Iraqi Militias

A little-noticed provision to arm Iraqi Christians in the House version of a must-pass defense bill is inadvertently fueling unrest between rival militias on the Ninevah Plains, an Iraqi melting pot. The nonbinding provision, inserted by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., a conservative Christian member of the House Armed Services Committee, notes “the important role of the Iraqi Christian…

Israel Supports the Creation of a Kurdish State

Israel Supports the Creation of a Kurdish State

For decades, Israel has had significant links to Kurdish groups throughout the Middle East. Long before President Erdogan led what in many ways amounts to a counter-revolution in Turkish politics, Israel’s support of Kurdish separatist movements throughout the region, was often a sore point between Ankara and Tel Aviv, who apart from this issue, tended…

Why International Powers Fear Kurdish Independence Vote Could Derail Fight Against ISIS

Why International Powers Fear Kurdish Independence Vote Could Derail Fight Against ISIS

The Kurdish leadership is coming under intense international pressure to postpone the referendum on independence due to take place in Kurdish-controlled parts of northern Iraq on 25 September. Outside powers see the poll as destabilising Iraq and neighbouring countries at the very moment when ISIS and its self-declared caliphate are being defeated. But Kurdish President Masoud…

The Kurdish Question: Why Federalization in Syria and The Creation of a Kurdistan is a Very Bad Idea

The Kurdish Question: Why Federalization in Syria and The Creation of a Kurdistan is a Very Bad Idea

Shortly after the Russian entrance to the Syrian theatre, American media became full of stories praising the heroism of the Kurdish fighters battling against ISIS in areas such as Ayn al-Arab (Kobane) and others. From stories promoting the fighting prowess of the Kurdish brigades to cleverly created propaganda campaigns regarding female Kurdish fighters, the Western…

Iraqi Kurdistan to Vote on Independence: Middle East Heads for Another Major War

Iraqi Kurdistan to Vote on Independence: Middle East Heads for Another Major War

The situation of the Kurds has received little attention in media. Meanwhile, the largest ethnic group without a homeland is on the verge of a new status to reshape the political map of the Middle East. Iraq’s Kurdish region plans to hold an independence referendum on Sept. 25 in three governorates that make up their autonomous region,…