Epstein Secrets

following a 10-day standoff between Iraqi army units and Kurdish pesh merga troops in October, after Maliki sent the army toward the disputed city of Kirkuk. That move followed a series of skirmishes and mobilizations along the “Green Line” separating Kurdistan from Arab Iraq and a series of attacks in th

ree flow of oil to the global market. While tensions have risen over the past two years, the triggers for recent eruptions are clear. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, had the HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_027116 --- PAGE BREAK --- bodyguards of Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi, who is Sunni, arrested for alleged te

following a 10-day standoff between Iraqi army units and Kurdish pesh merga troops in October, after Maliki sent the army toward the disputed city of Kirkuk. That move followed a series of skirmishes and mobilizations along the "Green Line" separating Kurdistan from Arab Iraq and a series of attacks in th

free flow of oil to the global market. While tensions have risen over the past two years, the triggers for recent eruptions are clear. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, had the HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_028742 --- PAGE BREAK --- bodyguards of Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi, who is Sunni, arrested for alleged ter

r toward a breakup, one group is maneuvering the crisis with far more leverage than the others: Iraqi Kurds. And in the contested oil-rich region of Kirkuk, Iraq's Kurdish minority has been steadily consolidating control for weeks. On the southern edge of the province, in an area once secured by centra

ty. Washington has urged the country's factions to work together toward forging a new government that would see the country's Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki step aside. "A united Iraq is a stronger Iraq," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters last week. But Iraq's parliament failed to re

rs that using the current turmoil to gain concessions from Baghdad on issues such as independent oil exports and the future of the disputed city of Kirkuk will backfire. Washington is loath EFTA00669742 to take sides between Erbil and Baghdad. And if it does, it is unlikely to act to antagonize Mr.

ir less experienced allies, who are now decamping for home. Since late December, Shia militiamen have returned to Iraq to defend the government of Nouri al-Maliki against the ISIS-led insurgency in the country's west. Given the lightening-speed advance of ISIS this month, threats to destroy Shia holy sites, a

llowing a 10-day standoff between Iraqi army units and Kurdish pesh merga troops in October, after Maliki sent the army toward the disputed city of Kirkuk. That move followed a series of skirmishes and mobilizations along the "Green Line" separating Kurdistan from Arab Iraq and a series of attacks in

e flow of oil to the global market. While tensions have risen over the past two years, the triggers for recent eruptions are clear. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, had the bodyguards of Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi, who is Sunni, arrested for alleged terrorist activities on Dec. 20 — almost ex