Iraq
When Art and Archaeology Turn Political
New Lines contributor Olivia Snaije and contributing editor Lydia Wilson speak to Faisal Al Yafai about recent articles they wrote exploring how the Middle East’s ancient heritage continues to shape modern politics — and how the story of a nation depends on who’s telling it.
Dictators and Hijacked Heritage
Both Saddam and Assad recognized the value of their countries’ archaeological heritage and adapted it to suit their interpretations of what they thought the Baath Socialist Party should be.
Brett McGurk: A Hero of Our Time
Every generation of American diplomats has a figure who becomes the face of the era in foreign policy, a Dean Acheson, Henry Kissinger, or Richard Holbrooke. The years of pain and sorrow otherwise known as the Forever Wars may have found their own symbol in Brett McGurk.
A Caliph Without a Caliphate: The Biography of ISIS’s New Leader
Documents and pictures, made public in English by New Lines for the first time, that indicate Qardash was in fact a leading figure among Iraqi jihadist groups over the past two decades who has steadily worked his way up the security and religious hierarchy within the Islamic State group.
Post-ISIS Security Pitfalls Lurk in a Small Town Near Baghdad
Though ISIS cells undeniably continue to operate in some Sunni-dominant areas, the use of forces linked to Shiite armed groups to conduct operations in Sunni-majority areas aggravates fears of human rights abuses and even “ethnic cleansing.”
The ISIS War Crime Iraqi Turkmen Won’t Talk About
Media attention of the crimes of ISIS have focused on attacks against Iraq’s Yazidi minority group. But another minority group, the Turkmen, also suffered terrible violence, and only now, slowly, is the embattled community piecing together its own story.
Why Biden’s Airstrikes on Iran Militias Matter
In late February, U.S. warplanes struck targets in the Albu Kamal region of Syria, a zone on the country’s eastern border that is heavily used by Iranian-backed Shiite militias. The airstrikes weren't as insignificant as critics say.