Op-Ed: Are we a divided society?

Canings, Stabbings, and Shootings Whig party member John Giddings of Ohio wanted to include into the Congressional Record his opposition to certain slavery measures; doing so would put him up against a Gag Rule passed by House Democrats from the South. They had tired of the anti-slavery harangues of the Whig party.  Edward Black of […]

Australia revokes citizenship of Islamic State affiliates

This week the Australian government announced that five dual citizens were stripped of their Australian citizenship after it was discovered they had taken part in the Islamic State collective in Iraq and Syria. To date, six Australians have been stripped of their citizenship for taking part in the Islamic State’s activities. The law was changed […]

A growing number of villages in Kirkuk, Iraq are being evacuated

Since Kirkuk was turned over to Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and paramilitary militias in October 2017, a total of 30 villages in the region have been evacuated; either because of the threat of Islamic State insurgents or anti-Kurdish sentiments. The mayor of Dibis, a territory within the Kirkuk region, Abdullah Nuradin told local media that, There are […]

Kurdistan representatives meet with US delegation to discuss the future of Iraq

A United States led delegation met with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani over the weekend. The meeting was to discuss what role Kurdistan will play in helping eliminate the last remnants of the Islamic State as well as how the will contribute to the formation of the new Iraqi government. The delegation was […]

ISIS militants abduct villagers in Kurdistan and vice versa

A squad of Islamic State militants kidnapped five Iraqi citizens in the Kirkuk region last week, one of the men abducted was a Kakai religious leader. The men were taken near Zanqar village according to Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) official Jamal Shakur. He added that, “The name of one of the abductees is Farhad, […]

The problem with the Kurdish Peshmerga

Recently I have been speaking with many of the Kurds I had previously served alongside in the Kurdish Peshmerga military forces. Many have moved on to veteran status and found civilian jobs. Many feel disenfranchised with the Peshmerga because it is surrounded by family hookups and back door deals. Corruption is common practice among the […]

Convicted terrorists attempt a prison escape in Kurdistan

Yesterday an attempted prison break in a Duhok — in a prison that contained convicted terrorists — led to seven inmates being killed and several others injured. The deaths and injuries occurred when the would-be escapees set fire to their cell block. Zirka prison houses around 1,500 convicted terrorists, most of which were members of the […]

Syrian Democratic Forces capture Turkish militant sleeper cells

The Manbij Military Council (MMC) announced that they have captured several “sleeper cells” composed of pro-Turkish militants this week. The captured men were supposedly part of the Turkish military’s Operation Euphrates Shield and were attempting to “destabilize” the region. The MMC’s commander, Mohammed Abu Adel told local media that, “The Euphrates Shield forces wanted to […]

Iran weighs in on Iraq’s parliamentary elections

Iran has expressed its support of Iraq’s upcoming elections claiming that they will pave the way not only the rehabilitation of the country progression into the modernized international community. Bahram Qasimi, the Foreign Ministry of Iran’s spokesman, stated this week that the parliamentary electoral race was key to progressing democracy in Iraq. He said, Due […]

Yezidis kidnapped in Afrin by armed men

The activist organization Yazda is claiming that “11 Yezidi civilians” were abducted by unknown armed men in Afrin this week. In a statement released by Yazda last week they said, “Ten vehicles carrying masked gunmen stormed houses and arrested people. The group later released a man named Hanan Prem after torturing him and demanding a ransom of […]

Iraq begins airstrikes in Syria against ISIS

This past week the Iraqi Air Force began carrying out coordinated air strikes on Islamic State positions in Syria alongside the Syrian government. A Tweet from the Iraqi Air Force read, “Based on the orders from Abadi, the commander-in-chief, our air forces by using F-16s bombarded ISIS terrorists’ positions in Syria on the border with Iraq on […]

Saudi Arabia may send armed forces to Syria

With the United States and coalition forces mission to eradicate the Islamic State caliphate in Syria coming to a close, the Trump administration is looking to fill the void with neighboring forces should coalition troops pull out. Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister, Adel al-Jubeir, addressed the topic during a press conference in Riyadh held at the United […]