Kurdish Policy Analysis

  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...

  Eight drones intercepted over Iraq's Kurdistan Region highlight a dangerous new chapter in regional competition as Baghdad seeks closer ties with Washington By Dr. Pshtiwan Faraj The sight of explosions lighting up Erbil's night sky has become an all-too-familiar image in Iraq's Kurdistan Region. Yet the interception of eight explosive-laden drones over the regional capital on July 16 marks more than another attempted attack on a city that has repeatedly found itself on the front lines of Middle Eastern conflicts. Instead, it represents the latest manifestation of a rapidly evolving geopolitical contest involving the United States, Iran, Iraqi armed groups, and the future of Iraq's security architecture. According to the Kurdistan Region's Counter-Terrorism Directorate (CTD), International Coalition air defense systems intercepted and destroyed eight drones over Erbil between 8:53 p.m. and 9:20 p.m. local time. All were neutralized before reaching their intende...

  Iraqi Militia Missile weapon system worth less than 50 thousand Iraqi dinars ($35) wreaks havoc in Iraq Local social media have reported that the recent militia proxy attack that killed a french soldier in the French-based forces near Erbil is so cheeply produced that one cannot help but to laugh. The weapon missile system is old model derived from the previous Baathi regime and it dates back to 2000s and only costs 35 USD to launch an attack. Iraqi Militias have used this weapon system as an asymetric warfare to threaten and intimidate the Peshmarga forces, US and Coalition forces training local forces. So far they have launched hundreds of these cheap missiles to kurdistan region of Iraq and terrorizing the local people.The militias rely on this cheaply produced weapons system to defy the more superior technologically advanced missile systems like anti-drone system, Cruise, Tomahok and hypersonic missiles lanched by B1, B2 and B52. This is perhaps the reason the war will not en...