Delisting Ahmad al-Sharaa and his group HTS from the American and European terrorist lists has brought back an old, persistent question in a new form: Does the West have any moral compass? Does this stance not reveal a profound crisis in the West’s very ability to recognize and define “good” and “evil”; “friend” and “foe”? […]

August 23, 2024, was an ordinary morning. Waking up, it did not occur to me that in a few hours, fire and smoke would engulf me, or that I would think to myself, “This is my last day.” It was a hot morning, like any in August. That day, my colleagues from Chatr Media Productions […]

PIcture Credits: Wikimedia Commons Across the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), a political brand, built on image rather than substance, is now struggling to remake itself. Tree-planting ceremonies for Erbil’s new ‘Green Belt’, green corridors, reforestation drives, and clean energy dominate government messaging. Sustainable transitions and practices are much-needed and welcome, and the intent behind […]

Murad Ismael (L), Member of the Iraqi Parliament representing the Yazidi Cause Alliance with Iraqi Prime Minister, Mr. Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani (R) | Picture Credits: X Account of Murad Ismael Iraq had a parliamentary election on 11 November. The election was, to borrow Greg Palast’s film title, ‘The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.’ The uneasy […]

Islamic State graffiti in the ruins of Sinjar in July of 2019, following war with the Islamic State | Picture Credits: Levi Clancy/Wikimedia Commons Nearly a decade after the Islamic State’s territorial defeat, thousands of foreign fighters remain in detention across North and East Syria. The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) aims […]

The Euphrates River in Turkey | Picture Credits: Carole Raddato/Wikimedia Commons There is a sense of irony in the photo of the signing of the water deal between Iraq and Turkey.  The photo shows Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan and Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein. Both men are Kurds. Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani, the prime minister of Iraq, stands […]