Conflicts Forum

Many observers have assumed that Saddam Hussein’s execution was yet another Iraqi “milestone” timed to serve the needs of a struggling American president. Milestone it was, but indications now suggest that this was, on the contrary, a marker that Washington was desperate to forestall. And for good reason: in pressing for Saddam’s execution, Iran appears […]

Over the last three months, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and her top aides have scrambled to build a “new security architecture” for the Middle East — one that will maintain pressure on Iran at the same time that it provides a cover for U.S. efforts to salvage some respectability from its collapsing position in […]

From our Baghdad correspondent
Condoleezza Rice’s recent visit to Iraq was intended to show support for the battered government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, but it was clear from the moment the Secretary of State arrived that the US was beginning to shift its political stance. A senior member of the al-Tawafuq Bloc told this […]

By Alastair Crooke, Bitterlemons, January 26, 2006
Having recently participated in two public debates on the issue of whether the United States should withdraw now from Iraq or stay the course, I understand only too well that western audiences are not listening to the arguments. It is not cool rationality that sways the audience, but the […]

Prepared by the research staff of Conflicts Forum, August 1, 2005
Both the U.S-led allied forces and the Iraqi Government realize that the Sunni forces with whom they have negotiated with immediately following the January election have no real impact on the strength and growth of the Iraqi resistance. Some of those groups now have officials […]