How is iraq

Iraq has had a turbulent The year began with the U. Iran also retaliated, with a missile barrage against U. After months of limbo, Iraqis finally settled on a new prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi. He faces the daunting challenges of reducing corruption and improving employment prospects in a country rocked by demonstrations against the previous government, and now also by Covid Throughout it all, Iraq remains in the unenviable position of being squeezed between the rock of proximity to Iran and the hard place of an unsettled yet important relationship with the U.

You may change your billing preferences at any time in the Customer Center or call Customer Service. Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan are now ready to pick up the pieces and foster stability.

It is no doubt a self-serving statement and not even entirely true. The Iraqis also take credit for pushing reconciliation between Turkey and Egypt, and there are rumors that they are doing the same between Ankara and Abu Dhabi.

Mitigating these regional rivalries would certainly benefit Yemenis, Palestinians, Libyans, and Syrians as well as Iraqis. But there is also an Iran dimension to this outreach. Kadhimi is smart enough to know that he cannot run the Iranians out of Iraq, so he needs to be more subtle. The Iraqis are, of course, realistic. Iran is always going to be influential and have interests in Iraq, but by carving out a larger role for itself among Arab countries, Kadhimi has a better chance of establishing something akin to state-to-state ties with Iran rather than a relationship that looks more like subjugation.

To start, give the Iraqi leader credit for trying. Maybe they have decided for their own political and national interests that now is the time to pursue less conflictual policies. Bad economic news and incompetence in handling disasters like COVID and wildfires have buffeted the Turkish president politically.

Consider, too, the Emiratis. They have signaled that they are no longer in the business of trying to shape the geopolitics of the region, pulling back from Libya and withdrawing forces from Yemen in favor of an emphasis on economic development. Emirati leaders in turn seem more open to a modus vivendi with both Iran and Turkey. When it comes to Saudi Arabia-Iran talks, it does not cost anything for the Saudis to meet the Iranians in Baghdad, and it may even provide a boost to Iraqi sovereignty, which is a net plus for the folks in Riyadh.

There continues to be no love lost between Turkish leaders and their Emirati counterparts. And the Saudis and Iranians remain wary adversaries, no closer it seems to re-establishing diplomatic ties than they were when word of Iraqi mediation leaked to the press. Nevertheless, it is better for everyone that the Iraqi government wants to be helpful. Steven A. Twitter: stevenacook. Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription. Already a subscriber?

Log In. Subscribe Subscribe. View Comments. Institute of Peace has worked without interruption in Iraq since and maintains offices in Baghdad and Erbil. Our key partners, Sanad for Peacebuilding and the Network of Iraqi Facilitators NIF , have halted violent feuds, saving lives and re-stabilizing communities. In , a similar initiative prevented resurgence of communal violence in the city of Hawija, following its liberation from ISIS.

USIP informs U. USIP provides technical and financial support to Sanad, an Iraqi civic organization with expertise mediating communal disputes. AIM advocates for reparations to minority communities harmed by ISIS and works with government agencies to help displaced minority communities return to their homes in Nineveh Plain, Sinjar, and elsewhere in northern Iraq.

Through a specialized tool called the Conflict and Stabilization Monitoring Framework, USIP collects data directly from conflict-affected communities in minority-rich areas to understand barriers to peace and stabilization needs.