International Crisis Group

In One Corner Of Syria, A Rebel Victory Results In Friction | NPR

By Deborah Amos and Rima Marrouch

When Syrian rebels seized the border post at Ras al-Ayn on Nov. 8, they celebrated the victory and went on to “liberate” the town, a place where both Arabs and Kurds live on Syria’s northeast border with Turkey.

But the Kurdish inhabitants quickly saw their “liberation” as a disaster. Within days, dozens were dead in clashes between Kurdish militias and the rebels.

Many civilians in Ras al-Ayn fled to neighboring Turkey. Kurds on both sides of the border blamed the Turkish government for arming the rebels and backing the operation.

FULL ARTICLE (NPR)

Photo: Freedom House/ Flickr

إسفين كردي بين العراق وتركيا | الشرق الأوسط

By Joost Hiltermann, Crisis Group’s MENA Deputy Program Director

لا عجب أن تستحوذ حالة من الغبطة على أكبر ثلاث مدن في إقليم كردستان العراق، أربيل والسليمانية ودهوك هذه الأيام، لاسيما أن أكراد العراق، الذين يقيمون في المنطقة شبه المستقلة التي تديرها حكومة إقليم كردستان، لديهم ما يكفي من الأسباب للاحتفال

FULL ARTICLE (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Photo: James Gordon/Flickr

A Kurdish Wedge Between Iraq, Turkey | RealClearWorld

By Joost Hiltermann, Crisis Group’s Deputy Program Director for the Middle East and North Africa

The mood in Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk - the three largest cities in Iraqi Kurdistan - is newly buoyant these days, and with good reason. Iraq’s Kurds, who occupy the semiautonomous region run by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), have much to celebrate.

FULL ARTICLE (RealClearWorld)

Photo: Jan Sefti/Flickr

Power games in Iraq over ousted Central Bank chief | Al Bawaba

The targeting of Iraq’s well-respected central bank chief appears to be a move by Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki to consolidate power and sends a bad message to international investors, experts and diplomats say.

Sinan Al-Shabibi was last week replaced as governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) while he was overseas, and arrest warrants have since been issued for him and other bank officials over allegations of currency manipulation.

FULL ARTICLE (Al Bawaba)

Photo: U.S. Airforce Staff Sgt. Jessica J. Wilkes/Wikimedia Commons

Making Iran Into Enemy Number One | Huffington Post

By Fariba Amini

Joost Hiltermann, a researcher on the subject of the Iran-Iraq war wrote some years ago, “Today the world faces the prospect a nuclear-armed Iran, which never again will allow itself to be caught so dangerously exposed to superior arms, illegal methods of warfare, and the world’s tolerance of such.”

FULL ARTICLE (Huffington Post)

Photo: Safwat Sayed/Flickr

Analysis: Syrian Kurds sense freedom, power struggle awaits | Reuters

By Patrick Markey

Some towns in northeastern Syria are flying yellow, green and red Kurdish flags as long-oppressed Kurds exploit an uneasy vacuum left by President Bashar al-Assad’s retreating forces.

Can Iraq find its way out of its current political stalemate? An interview with Joost Hiltermann | Ekurd.net

By Joel Wing

The International Crisis Group (IGC) is one of the best sources on Iraq. Its reports contain some of the most in-depth analysis of the situation within that country. Joost Hiltermann is the Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the IGC, and is responsible for much of that coverage. Below is a short interview with Hiltermann about whether Iraq can solve its on going political problems. 

FULL ARTICLE (Ekurd.net)

Photo: DoD photo by Sgt. Curt/Wikiemedia Commons