Kurdish Policy Analysis

  By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj / Kurdish Policy Analysis Omar Mohammed's long-awaited memoir tells the story behind the anonymous blog that exposed ISIS to the world while preserving the memory of Mosul under occupation. Omar Mohammed's new book Mosul Eye recounts his secret struggle to document ISIS crimes from inside occupied Mosul and preserve the city's history. The anonymous voice that defied ISIS has finally told its story For nearly three years, one anonymous voice became one of the world's most trusted sources on life inside ISIS-controlled Mosul. Hidden behind the pseudonym Mosul Eye , Iraqi historian Omar Mohammed risked execution every day by documenting atrocities, preserving evidence of war crimes, and ensuring that one of Iraq's darkest chapters would not disappear into propaganda or silence. Now, that extraordinary story has been published in Mosul Eye: A Scholar's Clandestine War Against ISIS , a book that transforms one man's secret resista...

  By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj Drones Over Kurdistan: Why Iraqi Kurdistan's Air Defense Gap Has Become One of the Middle East's Most Dangerous Security Vulnerabilities.  Drones Over Kurdistan: Why Air Defense Has Become the Kurdistan Region's Greatest Security Challenge After Hundreds of Drone and Missile Attacks, the Kurdistan Region Faces an Urgent Question: Who Will Defend Its Skies After the U.S. Withdrawal? The death of an American service member in Iraq's Kurdistan Region during the disposal of unexploded ordnance from an Iranian one-way attack drone has once again highlighted one of the region's most serious strategic vulnerabilities: the absence of an independent and effective air defense system. For years, the Kurdistan Region has increasingly become a frontline in regional conflicts despite repeatedly emphasizing its neutrality. Initially threatened by ISIS's weaponized drones, the region now faces persistent attacks from Iran and Iran-backed militias ta...

  By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj   Caught Between Washington, Tehran, Ankara, and Baghdad, the Kurdistan Region Faces One of Its Most Dangerous Strategic Moments Since the Fight Against ISIS Introduction Few peoples in modern international politics have experienced the repeated cycle of partnership, abandonment, resilience, and geopolitical uncertainty that characterizes the Kurdish national movement. Home to an estimated 30–40 million people spread across Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria, the Kurds remain the world's largest stateless nation. Their strategic location—occupying mountainous terrain connecting four major states—has made them indispensable partners for regional and global powers while simultaneously exposing them to shifting alliances and competing security agendas. Today, another period of geopolitical uncertainty is unfolding. The recent conflict involving Iran, the evolving U.S. military posture in the Middle East, renewed regional competition, and growing instabilit...

  By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj US Withdrawal From Iraq Gains Momentum as analysts argue ISIS no longer justifies American presence As the September 2026 withdrawal deadline approaches, a growing debate in Washington suggests the U.S. military mission in Iraq should end, with only limited counterterrorism cooperation maintained to support Iraqi special forces. With the United States preparing to complete its military withdrawal from Iraq by September 30, 2026 , a growing number of defense analysts argue that the original justification for maintaining American forces has largely disappeared. Responding to discussions surrounding the future of the U.S. mission, one security commentator argued that while they are "hardly an anti-war voice," Washington could safely end the Combined Joint Task Force–Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) without significantly increasing regional security risks. Instead of maintaining thousands of personnel, the analyst suggested a far smaller footp...

The United States has announced a reward of up to $10 million for information on  Akram Abbas al-Kabi, founder and leader of Harakat al-Nujaba, an Iran-aligned armed group in Iraq. Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj    | Sulaimani, Iraq | 08 May 2026  -- Washington escalates pressure on Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq as regional conflict deepens and drone attacks intensify across the Kurdistan Region. In a public notice, the US State Department described Harakat al-Nujaba as “an Iran-aligned terrorist militia group in Iraq,” adding that its members “have attacked U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq as well as U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria, killing a U.S. contractor and wounding U.S. servicemembers.” The announcement came as Iraqi and Kurdish leaders gathered in Baghdad to discuss the formation of a new federal cabinet, nearly six months after parliamentary elections. Washington is reportedly seeking to ensure that Tehran-affiliated politicians are excluded from positions i...

U.S. and Iraq strike urgent security deal as regional war fears grow New coordination committee aims to stop terror attacks, protect U.S. forces, and keep Iraq from becoming the next battlefield Is Iraq on the brink — or pulling back from chaos? Erbil, Kurdistan, March 27  Kurdish Policy Analysis – The United States and Iraq have agreed to deepen security coordination and prevent the country from being drawn into escalating regional conflict, following the inaugural meeting of a newly established High Joint Coordination Committee, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said on Thursday. The committee, created under the long-standing strategic partnership between Baghdad and Washington, met for the first time on March 26, bringing together officials from both sides to strengthen cooperation across political, economic and security fields. In a joint understanding reached during the meeting, Iraq and the United States agreed to intensify efforts to prevent terrorist attacks and ensure that I...