[Published here on January 14, 2020]
Ain al-Asad Air Base (Iraq) (AFP) – A timeline of last week’s Iranian missile attack against the Ain Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, as seen through the eyes of some of the 1,500 US soldiers deployed there.
Iraq
Iraq warns of ‘collapse’ if Trump blocks oil cash | AFP
[Published here on January 13, 2020]
Baghdad (AFP) – Iraqi officials fear economic “collapse” if Washington imposes threatened sanctions, including blocking access to a US-based account where Baghdad keeps oil revenues that feed 90 percent of the national budget.
Iraq set for conflict, even if US and Iran de-escalate | AFP
[Published here on January 9, 2020]
Baghdad (AFP) – Arch-foes Tehran and Washington may be temporarily calling it even after Iranian missiles targeted US forces in Iraq, but analysts predict violent instability will keep blighting Baghdad.
US ties with Iraq, allies take hit after drone strike | AFP
[Published here on January 7, 2020]
Baghdad (AFP) – A deadly US drone strike in Baghdad has rocked America’s ties with allies on the ground, left diplomats scrambling to contain the fallout and Iraqi officials outraged at the airspace violation.
What would a US withdrawal from Iraq look like? | AFP
[Published here on January 7, 2020]
Iraq’s caretaker premier Adel Abdel Mahdi contended Tuesday that he received signed copies of a letter the US had said was only an unsigned draft describing steps America’s military would take to leave Iraq.
Here is AFP’s look at what shape a withdrawal could take.
With pro-Iran groups at helm, Iraq ‘risks becoming pariah’ | AFP
[Published here January 2, 2020]
Baghdad (AFP) – The US embassy siege by pro-Iran protesters in Baghdad lasted just over a day, but analysts warn it could have lasting implications for Iraq’s complex security sector and diplomatic ties.
US embassy to send extra troops to its Iraq embassy | BBC
I spoke to BBC Newshour on January 1 about the latest developments outside the US embassy, where a mob of Iraqi supporters of the Hashed al-Shaabi military force burned American flags, broke through a security office and scribbled pro-Iran messages on the embassy’s outer walls before camping out for the night.
Give it a listen here.
The Protests in Iraq | FPRI Middle East Brief
I spoke to Aaron Stein at the Foreign Policy Research Institute about the roots, trajectory and challenges of Iraq’s swelling protest movement. Have a listen here.
Inked at the uprising: Iraq’s teenage tattoo artist | AFP
[Published here on December 15, 2019]
Baghdad (AFP) – At 16, Maram is as old as the political system she and fellow Iraqi youth are railing against. But the spunky teen has her own way of protesting: inking tattoos.
Iraqi families fear worst after protesters abducted | AFP
[Published here December 11, 2019]
Baghdad (AFP) – “Last seen: Friday, 9:18pm.” About an hour after gunmen began attacking a protest encampment in Iraq’s capital at the weekend, Mustafa — who had slept there for weeks — went offline.
In the days since, the 20-year-old demonstrator has not reappeared on messaging application WhatsApp, or in real life.
MAYA GEBEILY 