Iraq
Kurdistan defies the threats to hold its referendum vote
The Machko teahouse in the centre of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, has seen much of the area’s history. Founded…
‘Kurdexit’ would make Brexit look strong and stable
Last week, American, British and UN diplomats tried to persuade the Kurds in Iraq to delay their referendum on independence.…
The Brexit referendum joins Iraq and Suez on my list of political disasters
To the Business School at the University of Edinburgh to be interviewed on the theme of ‘Great Political Disasters’. Main…
For Iraq’s Kurds, independence looks tantalisingly close
Next month, Iraq’s Kurds head to the polls in an eagerly-awaited independence referendum. Ahead of the vote, on September 25th,…
The Yazidis’ desperate struggle is far from over
Three years ago, international attention was drawn to the desperate plight of Iraq’s Yazidis, a largely unheard of ethnic and…
The victory over Isis has left Mosul at risk of more brutality
A grainy video posted to Twitter shows a bearded man, his hands raised, on his knees, pleading for his life.…
Can Iraq’s Christians ever recover from Isis?
Since June 2014, when Islamic State attacked northern Iraq, the desks at Mar Ephrem seminary in Hamdaniya, a city 18 miles southeast of…
Persecuted Iraqi Christians ‘supported Trump 100 per cent’ because they felt betrayed by Obama
There’s an extraordinary moment in this week’s Holy Smoke podcast when the aid official supervising the resettlement of 12,000 Iraqi…
The Spectator podcast: Isis’s last stand
On this week’s podcast, we discuss what the end of Isis means for a fragile Middle East, debate whether John Bercow…
John Bercow consistently voted for the Iraq war. He’s a colossal hypocrite, not a hero
The Twitter-cheering for John Bercow, the transformation of him into a Love, Actually-style hero of British middle-class probity against a…
‘British values’ are a load of old codswallop
Sometimes a combination of news stories crop up that so perfectly sum up the spirit of the age, its absurdities…
We’re too busy vilifying Putin and Russia to notice our own misdeeds
I have been wondering these last few weeks whether it would be cheaper to excavate a basement and buy a…
The battle for Mosul could create another refugee exodus
As the sun set over the frontline in northern Iraq on the first day of the long anticipated Mosul offensive,…
Iraq’s endgame: The battle for Mosul
At night, the temperature around the Islamic State-held city of Mosul drops to around 80°F. At the Bashiqa front line,…
The Spectator Podcast: Marriage for one
An increasing number of women are entering into the institution of marriage with their dream partner: themselves. In her cover…
The Spectator Podcast: Marriage for one
An increasing number of women are entering into the institution of marriage with their dream partner: themselves. In her cover…
The Spectator podcast: The real hate crime scandal
Since the vote for Brexit, the media has fallen over itself to cover the apparently large upswing in the number…
The Spectator podcast: The real hate crime scandal
Since the vote for Brexit, the media has fallen over itself to cover the apparently large upswing in the number…
Syria’s foreign policy lessons are just as important as Iraq’s
Before she was murdered, Jo Cox MP had written most of a report. She worked on it jointly it with…
Was ‘the deadly Mail’ right after all on Iraq, Michael Gove?
Last week the Daily Mail endorsed Theresa May as the next Tory leader. The declaration took many by surprise as not…
The Chilcot report has exposed Blair’s real crime: failure to prepare
‘If it falls apart, everything falls apart in the region’ Note from Tony Blair to George W Bush, 2 June…
How the UK messed up Iraq: what the Chilcot Inquiry says about post-conflict planning
The Iraq Inquiry dismisses claims that the aftermath of the invasion could not have been foreseen. It describes the planning…
Iraq Inquiry: Key points from Sir John Chilcot’s statement
Should the UK have gone to war in Iraq? Did it have the necessary legal basis and intelligence to do…
Sir John Chilcot’s full statement introducing the Iraq War inquiry report
We were appointed to consider the UK’s policy on Iraq from 2001 to 2009, and to identify lessons for the…
As Basra slid towards hell, Blair looked the other way
There has always been a faction of the Labour party that wanted Tony Blair in the dock for the Iraq…
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