Will Washington put more boots on the ground in Iraq?
The recent operation in Hawija led by the United States to release Islamic State hostages raised a debate in Iraq about the government’s powers and sovereignty over its territory.
The Oct. 22 raid by US and Iraqi forces to release hostages of the Islamic State (IS) seemed to represent a qualitative leap in military cooperation between the countries. However, the raid provoked controversy over whether the United States informed the proper Iraqi officials ahead of time — and how the answer could affect Iraq's sovereignty.
Although a US soldier was killed and three peshmerga fighters injured, the operation was a success as 69 hostages held by IS since August 2014 were released, 20 IS members were killed and another six were detained. The peshmerga is the military force of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.
