Sectarian War a Two-Way Street For Iraq and Syria - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Ambassador Feisal Amin Rasoul al-Istrabadi

Ambassador Feisal Amin Rasoul al-Istrabadi

May 28, 2013

Residents gather at the site of bomb attacks in Baghdad May 27, 2013. More than 70 people were killed in a wave of bombings in markets in Shi'ite neighbourhoods across Baghdad on Monday in worsening sectarian violence in Iraq. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX10368 — Residents gather at the site of bomb attacks in Baghdad, May 27, 2013. More than 70 people were killed in a wave of bombings in markets in Shiite neighbourhoods across Baghdad in worsening sectarian violence in Iraq. — REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani

Relatives carry the coffin of an Iraqi soldier killed by militants during a funeral in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, April 28, 2013. Militants shot dead five Iraqi soldiers in the Sunni Muslim stronghold province of Anbar on Saturday and protesters said they were forming an "army" after four days of unrest that raised fears of a return to widespread sectarian civil conflict. REUTERS/Haider Ala (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTXZ2XI

State Failure Behind Iraqi Sectarian Violence

Narav Salahaddin

Narav Salahaddin

Protesters lift a giant Iraqi national flag during an anti-government demonstration in Falluja, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, January 11, 2013. Tens of thousands of Iraqi Sunni Muslims took to the streets in Baghdad and other cities after prayers on Friday, in another show of discontent with Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. REUTERS/Mohanned Faisal (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS)

Iraqi Struggle for Secular Democracy Losing Ground

A woman walks holding a placard as activists demonstrate against female child marriages, in Tahrir Square in central Baghdad on July 28, 2024, amid parliamentary discussion over a proposed amendment to the Iraqi Personal Status Law. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqis protest proposed 'anti-women' amendment to personal status law

Shelly Kittleson

Shelly Kittleson

In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi speaks to reporters after a meeting with the top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, October 20, 2014. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR4AVJG

Will Abadi put his money where his mouth is?

Ali Mamouri