Iraq

The flow of Kurdish oil via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline to the international market after more than two years demonstrates the effectiveness of sustained U.S. diplomacy.

Decentralized governance efforts in the region, while offering promise to societies fractured by years of dictatorship and war, will be messy, inconsistent, and vulnerable to reversal and external manipulation.

Baghdad is weaponizing economic levers to punish the Kurdistan region for signing energy pacts with U.S. firms and for aligning with President Trump’s commercial diplomacy.

By hosting two regional summits, Prime Minister Sudani's government sought to strategically position Iraq's reentry into central Arab regional politics. However, internal divisions, regional mistrust, and shifting geopolitics exposed the limits of Baghdad’s ambitions.

A new deal between the Iraqi government and BP to develop oil fields in Iraq's most contested province could rekindle a century-old flame between Baghdad and Erbil.

On December 5, AGSIW hosted a discussion on U.S.-Iraqi relations.

While Iraqi leaders consistently emphasize the importance of Western investment in their energy sector, their actions instead are increasing Iraq’s dependence on Chinese markets and oil firms.

Iraq’s Kurdish population may benefit more from a consistent U.S. foreign policy under Harris than the unpredictability of another Trump term.