Tallha Abdulrazaq

Drone attack on Iraqi PM reveals menacing reach of Shia militias

The militant groups want a seat at the table, and are willing to apply whatever pressure it takes to ensure that they do.

Silence in the face of Shia militia atrocities will ensure Daesh returns

The impunity enjoyed by the militias and continued collective punishment against Sunnis can only lead to civil war.

Iraq has elections, but not a democracy

The country’s militias and politicians only care about lining their own pockets rather than dealing with the concerns of the people.

Is anyone surprised by the Pandora papers?

Dictators worldwide are using offshore tax havens to hedge against potential revolutions, while Western business and political leaders use them to dodge taxes. Will the latest revelations bring about meaningful change?

Iraq’s revival of military conscription shows desperation, not militarism

Conscription is highly politicised and the use of military and paramilitary institutions has become another lever for Iraqi politicians to exploit.

20 years after 9/11, the ‘War on Terror’ has brought the US only defeat

America’s prestige has been irreparably tarnished, its credentials diminished, and is now in global retreat as hungry powers rise to challenge it. It only has itself to blame.

Like Afghanistan, Iraq’s ‘democracy’ could as easily unravel

Baghdad relies heavily on American military and economic aid, and the fall of Kabul demonstrates the inherent instability of US client states.

Sanction Pakistan? Try blaming America for Afghanistan

Pakistan may be an easy scapegoat, but the culprit behind the current situation in Afghanistan is the US, which created a political order that prioritised its counterterrorism agenda over the Afghan people.

If Tunisia falls, democracy dies in the Arab world

Rolling back democracy won’t remove the desire for freedom in the Arab world.

Iraq’s endemic corruption caused the Nasiriyah hospital blaze

Iraq once boasted one of the best healthcare systems in the region. Its crippled health infrastructure is but a microcosm of the neglect and misconduct in governance following the Gulf Wars.

Calls for Iraq’s sovereignty are mere political slogans

Nearly 20 years after the US invasion, the Iraqi officials lamenting the loss of sovereignty today are the same ones who contributed to its demise.

Repealing Iraq war authorisation won’t bring back its victims

The repeal will not bring justice to those who were tortured. It will not bring back those murdered by a bloodthirsty military alliance of “civilised” Western powers.