[Published here June 11, 2020]
After months of tensions, Baghdad and Washington are poised to launch strategic talks Thursday to reset ties — but even with a new US-friendly Iraqi premier, a major breakthrough is unlikely.
military
As Iran missiles battered Iraq base, US lost eyes in sky | AFP
[Published here on January 15, 2020]
Ain al-Asad Air Base (Iraq) (AFP) – Moments after volleys of Iranian missiles began to batter Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase, US soldiers at the desert facility lost contact with their ultra-powerful — and expensive — eyes in the sky.
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.
US says Iran protest toll may surpass 1,000, mulls troops | AFP
[Published with my colleague Shaun Tandon here on December 6, 2019]
Washington (AFP) – The United States said Thursday that Iranian authorities may have killed more than 1,000 people in a crackdown on demonstrations, which Washington cast as the clerical regime’s worst-ever internal challenge.
In Iraq, political wrangling spawns debate over US troops | AFP
[Co-written with AFP’s Salam Faraj; published here January 22, 2019]
Baghdad (AFP) – From the halls of parliament to the lightning-fast rumour mills of social media, pro-Iran factions are demanding US troops withdraw from Iraq in a challenge to the country’s fragile government.
Paving the way: Syria highway traces winning regime strategy | ِAFP
[Published here on July 6, 2018]
From second city Aleppo all the way down to the border with Jordan, Syria’s longest highway cuts through fertile fields of green, buzzing industrial zones and four major cities.
