Iraq
265 Articles
Iraq and Syria: Prospects for Accountability
On February 10, 2016, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission convened a congressional briefing devoted to the topic of advancing accountability for the commission of international…
The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Geographical Scope of Human Rights Law
On January 21, a British investigation concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably” approved the poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, who died…
It’s All About the Associated Forces
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell quietly joined the battle over authorizing the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant last week. To the surprise of many given…
Reflecting on 25 Years of US Policy Towards Iraq
January marks the 25th anniversary of the first Gulf War. Many in the military look back on Operation Desert Storm with nostalgia. Objectives were limited, clear and achievable.…
Let’s Start Calling Combat Combat
On Tuesday, a Special Forces soldier died and two others were injured in a skirmish with Taliban fighters near Marjah in the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan. Al Asad air…
War: What Is It Good For? — Revisiting Strategic Questions Congress Should Ask in Debating an ISIL AUMF
As I revisited the series of 20 questions I recommended Congress consider in September 2014 regarding US strategy to combat the threat posed by ISIL, I remembered the advice an…
The US Holocaust Memorial Museum: “ISIL Is Committing Genocide Against the Yezidis in Iraq”
The US Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) has issued an important and distressing report characterizing violence against the Yezidi people in 2014 in Iraq as amounting to genocide.…
The Investigation Into the Islamic State and Chemical Weapons
Reports of the presumed use of chemical weapons — chlorine and more recently mustard gas — by Daesh (also know as the Islamic State) in Northern Iraq and Syria have appeared…
Politicization of Intelligence: Lessons From a Long, Dishonorable History
The Daily Beast and the New York Times have reported allegations that senior (but thus far unidentified) Defense Department and United States Central Command (CENTCOM) officials…
It’s Time for a Civilian Protection Strategy in Iraq
Editors’ note: This piece is adapted from a longer article by the author originally published in the International Journal of Stability & Development. The military…
A Missed Opportunity: DOD’s Law of War Manual & Applying Law as a Matter of Policy
Editor’s Note: This post is the latest in Just Security’s “mini forum” on the new Defense Department Law of War Manual. This series includes posts from Sean Watts,…
Background Reading on Umm Sayyaf’s Transfer to Kurdish Authorities
The Pentagon yesterday announced that it has transferred Umm Sayyaf, the US’s first detainee in the campaign against ISIL, to the Interior Ministry of Iraqi Kurdistan where…