Iraq

July 09, 2015 Brian Stewart

ISIS in Iraq and Syria: Bloodied but Unbowed

At the dawn of the US-led campaign against ISIS in September 2014, President Obama announced the formation of a “broad coalition” whose mission was to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS. Since then, the international coalition has carried out more...

Iran’s Influence in Iraq: Temporary or Permanent?

The Americans will leave one day, Quds Force commander General Qasem Soleimani once told Iraqi leaders, but Iran will remain Iraq’s neighbor. That lesson has only been reinforced by the lead role Iran has since taken in the fight against ISIS. Iran...

Shiite Militias in Iraq: a Warped Line of Defense

As ISIS makes sweeping gains in Iraq, it is worrying to note that for the most part, the group is being fought by sectarian extremists. Shiite militias – often acting as unofficial affiliates of Iran’s military – are operating outside of the Iraqi...

ISIS and the Cleansing of a Culture

“Nothing is safe from the cultural cleansing under way in the country: it targets human lives, minorities, and is marked by the systematic destruction of humanity’s ancient heritage.” – Irina Bukova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific...

The Tangled Roots of ISIS

The belief that the Iraq war was a monumental blunder is now widely held. In the public mind, the decision to dethrone Saddam Hussein has also become a ready explanation for nearly every ill to befall the world since. The latest baleful effect...

Complexities in Profiling Western Foreign Fighters

CEP has reviewed the details of dozens of cases involving Western foreign fighters and jihadist brides who in some way were radicalized and became involved in the conflict in Iraq and Syria. Given the similarity of the end result, you would suspect...

The Foreign Fighter Phenomenon

As many as 20,730 foreigners have joined armed militant groups in Iraq and Syria, making the two countries the most popular destinations for Muslim foreigner fighters in modern history. While garnering tremendous media attention of late, the...

Daily Dose

Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.

Fact:

On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers. 

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