Experts from the U.S. Institute of Peace provide the latest analysis and perspective on the world’s critical hot spots, U.S. and global security and issues involved in violent conflict, based on the Institute’s work on the ground and with key individuals, governments and organizations. They give interviews and background briefings to journalists and write for news outlets around the world.
A seemingly perpetual battlefield caught under the tension between the United States and Iran, Iraq goes to elections at a time when the domestic discontent towards the eastern neighbour and criticism towards the American presence are at their height, paving way for an uncertain future of the US-Iran relationship that has haunted Iraq for years...
The President of Iraq has condemned the deadly attacks against protestors during anti-government rallies over the last seven days. More people were killed overnight, taking the death toll beyond 110. Witnesses say security forces have opened fire on...
The ongoing protests and violence in Iraq have already transformed the political landscape of the country in a major shakeup that the nation has not witnessed since the rise of the Islamic State (IS) in 2014, Iraqi politicians and experts say. The recent unrest in Iraq began...
Iraq’s parliament accepted Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi’s resignation on Sunday, finally bringing down a veteran political survivor. Youth-led protests have rocked Iraq for...
The Islamic State group (IS) could be the major beneficiary of the conflict between the United States and Iran as tensions reach a new level between the two countries over the U.S. killing of Iran’s most powerful commander, Qassem Soleimani, experts...
State Department officials on Friday made clear that the United States does not intend to withdraw troops from Iraq, despite requests from that country's leadership to establish a mechanism to do so. The statements are the latest in the back and forth between...
After returning from a recent visit to Iraq, Sarhang Hamasaeed spoke to SIRIUSXM POTUS Ch. 124 about the current situation on the ground and the work USIP is doing to hold reconciliation dialogues. He explained some of the key issues for the country’s stability including tensions between the Shia militia presence in Sunni areas, revenge violence, and the upcoming Kurdish referendum.
Sarhang Hamasaeed spoke to SiriusXM POTUS Ch. 124 about the results of the non-binding Kurdistan independence referendum. Hamasaeed explained the internal and international consequences of the referendum having taken place in addition to the need to prevent an escalation of tensions that could lead to violence with Shia militias, the Iraqi Army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces being in proximity to one another. He also addressed the role the international community including the United States can take to facilitate and mediate between Iraq’s federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government.
When ISIS took over the Nineveh plains in northern Iraq in 2014, terrorized Christian residents fled in fear of their lives. Six years later, despite liberation from ISIS, many...
Randa Slim, Director of Conflict Resolution at the Middle East Institute, and Sarhang Hamasaeed, Director of Middle East Programs at the US Institute of Peace, tell host Carol Castiel that...