The Latest Breaking News from Iraq

Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline Shutdown on Turkish Government Orders

The Kurdistan Pipeline Company has shut the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline at the request of the Turkish government, oil companies in the regions said on Monday. The news comes after comes after Iraq on Saturday halted crude exports from its northern region after the country won an arbitration case in which it…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Mar 27, 2023

Commentary: As the Iraq War showed, the allure of consensus in foreign policy can be dangerous

With the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Iraq War, I’m reminded of the remarkable consensus behind that decision, which passed with strong bipartisan support. Experts, journalists and well-known media personalities joined the bandwagon too.

Chicago Tribune · Mar 27, 2023

Iraq: the cultural resilience of a war-ravaged country

It is 20 years since the US-led invasion of Iraq, and the Foreign Office still advises against travel there, owing to risks including kidnapping. But although the country is “by no means stable”, it is “just about functioning as a rare Arab democracy”, says Sophy Roberts in the FT –…

The Week · Mar 27, 2023

Iraq Halts Northern Crude Exports after Winning Arbitration Case against Türkiye

Iraq halted crude exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and northern Kirkuk fields on Saturday, an oil official told Reuters, after the country won a longstanding arbitration case against Türkiye. The decision to stop shipments of 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude relates to a case from 2014, when…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Mar 25, 2023

Congress revisits approval for Iraq invasion, recalling change of heart on Vietnam

In terms of domestic politics, the Iraq War followed the trajectory of the Vietnam War, which also relied on a resolution supporting the use of military force that Congress passed and later repealed.

WEKU · Mar 25, 2023

Spiking violence strains sectarian ties in Iraqi province

The Iraqi province of Diyala has seen a spike in bloody attacks over the past month that killed at least 19 civilians, including women and children

The Independent UK · Mar 25, 2023

A look at the US military mission in Syria and its dangers

The Iranian drone attack that struck a U.S. base in northeastern Syria, killing a contractor and wounding several U.S. troops, is just the latest in a growing number of attacks on American forces in Syria

The Independent UK · Mar 24, 2023

Mohamed ElBaradei: 'The Iraq war was about regime change, not WMDs'

Mohamed ElBaradei was director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 1997 until 2009. In an interview with FRANCE 24, he reflected on the US-led invasion of Iraq 20 years ago this week, which he opposed. "If I now look in hindsight, it was not really about weapons…

France 24 · Mar 24, 2023

‘We shouldn’t have been there’: US vets consider legacy of Iraq

Twenty years after the US invasion of Iraq, veterans question its purpose and struggle with the lingering effects.

Al Jazeera · Mar 24, 2023

How the Iraq war started

“Our mission is clear,” declared president George W. Bush following the ground invasion of Iraq on 20 March 2003: “to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction [WMDs], to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people”. 

The Week · Mar 24, 2023