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Category Archives: Iraq
ISIS and CW in Europe
Again this week ISIS has conducted a major terrorist attack in Europe by ISIS. By targeting crowds of people at transportation hubs used by millions, they appear to have been trying to kill as many as possible with as much … Continue reading
ISIS CW Attacks in Europe or Beyond?
In 2016, ISIS may once again take its terror out of the region of its “caliphate.” It had success in Paris last November and is losing ground in Iraq. Watch out for a new horror—they may take chemical attacks overseas—to … Continue reading
Posted in Intelligence, Iraq, ISIL, ISIS, ISIS Chemical Weapons, Sunni, Syria, Syria CW, Terrorism, United Nations, WMD
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Iran Verification – Wobbly
Verification is wobbly. Yes the provisions are better than other IAEA systems, but this is nothing compared to the access and techniques used in Iraq. Moreover, it is very sensitive to how aggressive the IAEA intends to be. And there … Continue reading
Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Iraq, Russia, United Nations, WMD
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Judy Miller’s Book
“The Story” provides a fascinating perspective on a terrible period. For those who want to look at the Iraq mess from various angles, this will add a valuable perspective (she quotes me in it, so I may not be unbiased). … Continue reading
Posted in Intelligence, Iraq, United Nations, WMD
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Inspectors in Iran-Political Science and Physical Science
In the President’s announcement of the Iran Nuclear deal, he highlighted the authorities of the IAEA inspectors under the new agreement–even though the details are not worked out. This will not be the case. The UN inspectors in Iraq had … Continue reading
Posted in Iran, Iraq, Russia, United Nations, WMD
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Monitoring Iran? Don’t bet on it…
There are a series of massive problems with the Iran nuclear agreement. A key one is the assertion of tough inspections. The diminished US objective of “limiting” Iran’s enrichment capacity to a point where there would be a one-year “breakout” … Continue reading
Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Iraq, ISIS, Russia, United Nations, WMD
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Who’s Happy in Iraq?
Watching Iraq and the US actions there is disheartening, unless of course you are Qassem Suleimani, commander of Iran’s notorious Quds force. Suleimani and the Iraqi Shia militia he largely directs, are doing quite well (see the happy chap in … Continue reading
Posted in Intelligence, Iran, Iraq, ISIL, ISIS, Sunni
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Iran: How bad a deal is worse than no deal?
The momentum to agree to something with Iran on their nuclear program is obvious even considering the public comments cautioning that a deal may not happen. Discussion now centers on how long of a breakout lead-time a deal would create. … Continue reading
Posted in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, United Nations, WMD
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Iraq – How do we answer the pleas of those about to die?
I expect every American official who has worked in Iraq with Iraqis gets calls like this. Here is an example of one call I got: A very prominent Iraqi–a former Minister and Ambassador, now out of Iraq called to relay … Continue reading
ISIS or ISIL or IS? Does it matter?
The President gave his speech on strategy towards ISIL…except everyone calls it ISIS in the West. ISIL is Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and ISIS is Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or al Shams, which is roughly … Continue reading