ARBIL - Ahmed Khani sips his tea as he reclines in a high-back leather chair, a sepia-toned portrait of the father of Iraqi Kurdish nationalism, the late Mullah Mustafa Barzani behind him. In the portrait, Barzani wears military fatigues and the traditional Kurdish...
How the US Can Attack an Ally
IRBIL, Northern Iraq – Irbil is normally a quiet place. Capital of the Kurdish autonomous area in Northern Iraq, the city of 800,000 has largely avoided the bloodshed of 22 months of war and occupation. Kurdish fighters here fought alongside the United States in...
Some Ba’athists Make It to Kurdish Election List
KIRKUK - Iraq's two main Kurdish political parties have put aside their differences for the Jan. 30 election. Like the Shias in the South, they have organized a single, sectarian ticket that they hope all Kurds will vote for. Surprisingly, that list includes some...
Kirkuk at the Crossroads
KIRKUK - It is Eid al-Athad, one of the holiest days in the Muslim calendar. It marks the day when Abraham saved his son Isaac from sacrifice after a lamb was offered up instead. Earlier in the morning most families have killed a sheep for the holiday. Kurdish...
Welcome to Kurdistan
ARBIL - My journey back to Iraq began, as most trips to the north of the country do, at the airport in Diyarbakkir, the largest Kurdish majority city in Turkey. From there it's a four-hour taxi ride to the border, provided you don't get stopped by the Turkish army,...
Iraq Election Worries Neighbors
CAIRO - Iraq's neighbors have begun to worry seriously about its national election scheduled for Jan. 30. Almost every day, a regional leader speaks out in favor of the vote because the alternative could be worse. High-ranking officials from Egypt, Jordan, and the...
Humvees Aren’t the Problem
There has been a lot of talk about Humvees lately, ever since an American soldier asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld why soldiers were going to war in unarmored vehicles. "We're digging pieces of rusted scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass that's already...
Why Arab Leaders Love the Iraqi Election
CAIRO - Iraq's main Sunni political movement, the Iraqi Islamic Party, has announced it will boycott U.S.-sponsored elections to be held Jan. 30. The head of the party, Mohsen Abdel Hamid, told reporters in Baghdad Monday his decision was motivated by the refusal of...
US Seeks to Silence Arab Democracy Activists
CAIRO - It's lunch time in Cairo and two dozen Egyptian activists and intellectuals take break for tea and date bars. They've gathered in a community center near the city's main train station to discuss new efforts to bring democracy to their country, which has been...
Is Kirkuk About to Explode?
In an interview with al-Arabia television, Iraq's Washington-backed president said that demanding a referendum for the right of self-determination in the Kurdish North will be regarded as an act of national treason of the Kurds against Iraq and would forcibly be...