Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Media ID: 55334469
Caption:

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari speaks with US Secretary of State John Kerry (not seen) during a meeting in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 23, 2014.
(AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool)

Hoshyar Zebari: Either the political process succeeds or Iraq plunges into chaos

by Sawsan Abu-Husain | Jul 20, 2014 | Interviews

Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—With Iraq’s Kurds set to nominate their candidates for the Iraqi presidency on Sunday, there are hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to form a new government following legislative elections on April 30. Agreement on a prime minister, who...

Media ID: 55334346
Caption:

People shout slogans in support for the call to arms by Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, who is the highest religious authority for Shi’ites in Iraq, in Najaf, south of Baghdad, on June 13, 2014. (Reuters/Alaa Al-Marjani)

Opinion: Iraqi Shi’ites between Sectarian Coherence and National Unity

by Mustafa Fahs | Jul 16, 2014 | Opinion

Iran continues to place great pressure on the member blocs of Iraq’s National Alliance, particularly the Al-Ahrar bloc led by Moqtada Al-Sadr and the Citizens’ bloc of Ammar Al-Hakim, to push them into withdrawing their opposition to Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, who...

Media ID: 55334224
Caption:

File picture dated September 5, 2004 of Izzat Al-Douri, who had been the most senior aide to Saddam Hussein. (Reuters)

Opinion: A Relic of the Past

by Abdulrahman Al-Rashed | Jul 15, 2014 | Opinion

Izzat Al-Douri was a figure of little consequence when he was the deputy of Iraq’s late President Saddam Hussein, and he has been of little significance since the Ba’ath Party collapsed and his president and other commanders were executed. What brought Douri back to...

Media ID: 55334232
Caption:

Iraqi troops raise up their weapons as they arrive to support the Sunni anti-Al-Qaeda militia Awakening Movement in its fight against anti-government militants, including from the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Anbar province, Iraq, on June 21, 2014. (AFP Photo/Stringer)

Opinion: Arab Sunnis Must Confront ISIS

by Tariq Alhomayed | Jul 14, 2014 | Opinion

Putting aside the precise details of what is happening in the region—including the absurd establishment of an “Islamic State” by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)—it is clear that we are now facing a new stage in the “War on Terror.” Whoever wins this war,...

Media ID: 55334224
Caption:

File picture dated September 5, 2004 of Izzat Al-Douri, who had been the most senior aide to Saddam Hussein. (Reuters)

Iraqi Ba’athists among ISIS Emir’s top aides—source

by Ma'ad Fayad | Jul 13, 2014 | Middle East

London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Former senior Iraqi military officers and members of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s now-outlawed Ba’ath Party are among Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Emir Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi’s top aides, a member of the party told...