Iraqi Kurdistan

Whether by exposure to particular Islamic nations or attempting to establish their own nation, Islam is intricately tied to the ethnic identity of the Kurds. In fact, Martin van Bruinessen notes from his field research in Kurdistan during the 1970s that many pious Muslim Kurds do not acknowledge their fellow Yezidi and Alevi Kurds as truly Kurdish (Mullas 53). Islam to them was essential to the Kurdish identity. Likewise, he notes that the Yezidis and Alevis have often seen…

According to Bacik and Coskun (2011), although PKK have not achieved to secure an independent Kurdistan, it has achieved multiple successes. Over the three decades, it has emerged as the most prospective actor which is logistically powerful and symbolically potent representative of Kurds people in Turkey. The PKK in Iraq is a small unit which stays outside the Iraqi politics and controls its own territory (Bloomberg View 2014). It is reported that the PKK is playing role in combatting…

The book I decided to read was As Strong as Mountains: a Kurdish Cultural Journey, written by Robert L. Brenneman. I wanted to read this book because I did not know any aspects of the Kurdish culture. I enjoy learning about other cultures, and Kurdish is one culture that I had very little knowledge of. In fact, I am not very educated about the cultures within the Middle East in general. This book helped me understand new aspects of the Kurdish culture and their lifestyle. Author Brenneman…

how does one rebuild a shattered state if one does not understand it quite fully? Iraq was still traumatized, but yet had a great support still of Suddam Hussein. The mistakes the American government in attempts to fixing Iraq was getting rid of the Iraqi army and allowing any leader who…

neighborhood needed large force to police an area. A large force is necessary against insurgent intimidation and threats. At this point, US forces helped reestablished critical and basics services. Market shops and school were to be opened again. Over time, Iraqis controlled more and more of the projects, returning their society to normalcy. The holding operation highlights the importance of operational art concept: force. Determining the amount of forces is important metric to measure the…

building their trust. In other words, the aim was to “win the hearts and minds” of the Iraqi people through relationship building with local populations alongside providing economic opportunities for insurgent defectors and security for civilians from insurgents. The premise of COIN was based off a central belief of Gen. Patreus in Field Manuel 3-24, which supported the idea that a long-term presence of US troops in Iraqi communities could improve the security situation and allow for trust to…

In October 2016, it was announced that a Saudi Imam would be visiting Nigeria in the near future to improve relations between the two countries; no doubt this Imam would condemn the actions of al-Barnawi and his followers as it would aid in the political aim of his mission. truly byzantine leader would do well to seize this as an opportunity to inflame the Sharia north through one of two COAs: coercing the Imam to denounce hostile action against Boko Haram; failing that, eliminating the Imam…

military damage with limited resources. The best example is the development of the IED in Iraq, responsible for 60% of the casualties, that the US was not able to stop despite spending billions of US dollars in technology.4 It was something the Iraqi insurgent could make cheap with little training and easily acquired material. With such a high cost, the U.S. could not continue perpetually and sought an exit…

involved the deployment of 28,000 additional U.S. troops to the Anbar Province and Baghdad Area of Influence (AOI). The AOI strategy was based on six essential elements that derived from a proposal meeting with senior Iraqi officials; let the Iraqis lead, help Iraqis protect the population, isolate extremists, create space for political progress, diversify political and economic efforts, and situate the strategy in a regional approach (Mansoor 2013). The rapid deployment of five…

After Saddam Hussein 's regime was toppled, the denationalization of the oil companies began. This was in opposition to economic development because many Iraqis depended on these jobs that were not being outsourced to companies for a fraction of the cost. An example of this is the story she tells of the man named Mahmud where a fight broke out in the factory he worked in over privatization. Once, the privatization…