Conflicts Forum

Sayyed Mohamed Marandi
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s interest in a stable Middle East is arguably greater than that of the United States—after all this is Iran’s neighborhood. For Iran to grow and prosper, it needs secure borders and stable neighbors. A poor and unstable Afghanistan, for example, inhibits trade and, potentially, increases the flow of […]

From our Baghdad correspondent, August 1, 2007
The noontime bombing that killed a dozen Iraqis at Baghdad’s Mansour Melia Hotel on June 25 continues to reverberate through Iraq — and through the American military high command. This was not a “typical” bombing (if there is such a thing in Iraq): it was well-planned and executed and […]

From our Baghdad correspondent, July 23, 2007
One of the more interesting — and quiet — visits to Washington was made recently by Sunni parliamentary leader Mohammed al-Dayni, who visited Capitol Hill during May to meet with Congressional leaders and administration officials. A Sunni member of the Iraqi parliament and head of the Sunni Iraqi National […]

From our Baghdad correspondent, May 17, 2007
American troops entering Baghdad on April 9, 2003 noted the strange quiet that enveloped large parts of the city. While Baathist gunmen continued to launch spoiling raids north of the the city, large segments of the population remained calm. This was particularly true in the largest Shia neighborhoods to […]

From our Baghdad correspondent, May 8, 2007
The establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq — an al-Qaeda inspired organization that threatened to split the Sunni resistance and sparked high-profile attacks against American and Iraqi targets in Baghdad — has had the unintended consequence of uniting non-al-Qaeda Sunni resistance movements into a new umbrella organization, the […]

From our Baghdad correspondent, May 7, 2007
After the declaration of the Islamic State in Iraq, founded by al-Qaeda leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir in January of this year, several Islamic resistance groups based in the western part of Iraq expressed their support for the new state. The announcement of the establishment of the ISI was made […]