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MECRA RESEARCH BLOG
The MECRA research blog is composed of short articles and may include outside contributions. The views expressed in these blogs and articles are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis editorial stance.
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Shamkhani's Iraq visit: Shoring up Tehran's role
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Iran's Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani (علی شمخانی) made a high...
MECRA
Mar 10, 20205 min read
US-Iran and Israel-Iran tensions timeline 2020 January to March
This timeline is the second part of a timeline that goes back to 2017, see the first part here. It seeks to include details about rising...
MECRA
Mar 6, 202016 min read
Who is Abu Fadak, Abdul-Aziz al-Muhammadawi, the man who will replace Muhandis?
On February 21 reports indicated that Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was killed in a US airstrike on January 3, would finally be replaced in...
MECRA
Feb 21, 20203 min read
Escalation: Nujaba's Kaabi and the February 16 rocket attack on US forces in Iraq
A rocket attack directed at a Coalition base near the US embassy on the night of February 15-16 raises concerns about recent threats to...
MECRA
Feb 16, 20206 min read
Who is Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, Iraq's possible next Prime Minister
Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi may be Iraq's next Prime Minister. His selection by President Barham Salih comes just over two months since Prime...
MECRA
Feb 1, 20205 min read
An interview with a senior officer of a special unit of Hashd al Shaabi (PMU)
This interview was conducted on January 3 in Baghdad, Iraq in the wake of the US srike that killed Qasim Solaimani and Abu Mahdi...
MECRA
Jan 6, 20208 min read
Analysis: Implications of the Soleimani killing
By ALEX GRINBERG The liquidation of the Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani is an achievement for the US, yet it is not a game changer....
MECRA
Jan 6, 20205 min read
What is known about rocket attack that killed a US contractor and wounded several US forces in Iraq
On Friday a salvo of rockets struck the K-1military base northwest of Kirkuk. It is the most significant of more than a dozen similar...
MECRA
Dec 28, 20197 min read
An interview with a member of the pro-Iran Khorasani militia, captured by protestors in Baghdad
The following interview was conducted with a member of the Khorasani militia, a pro-Iranian militia in Iraq, which forms part of the...
MECRA
Dec 28, 20193 min read
A defector from the Badr Organization in Iraq details its operations and his story
Through an interview we obtained exclusive information about the Badr Organization from an insider who played a role in one of its...
MECRA
Dec 11, 20195 min read
Who is Qais al-Khazali, the Iraqi militia leader sanctioned by the US on December 6?
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Qais al-Khazali (قيس الخزعلي) was targeted by US sanctions on December 6, 2019. "The U.S. Department of the...
MECRA
Dec 7, 20197 min read
Keeping ISIS defeated in Syria and Iraq, an interview with Coalition spokesman Caggins
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN On November 17 I spoke to Col. Myles B. Caggins III, spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the 81-member...
MECRA
Dec 4, 20198 min read
A "massacre" in Nasiriyah in Iraq as Iraqi protests reach two month turning point
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Two months of protest have reached what could be a turning point or crescendo as large movements of Iraqi forces...
MECRA
Nov 29, 201911 min read
Photo essay: Iraq's two months of protests: Inside the everyday life of the protesters' camp
Photos and text by ADAM LUCENTE Youth, gaming culture and humor flourish in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square protests BAGHDAD, Iraq – The posters...
MECRA
Nov 26, 20193 min read
Increasing evidence of Iran's role in crackdown on protests in Iraq
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Iraq's month-long protests have led to more than 200 deaths, mostly of protesters killed by Iraqi Security Forces...
MECRA
Oct 31, 20196 min read
Sources close to PMU reveal role of Badr, AAH and pro-Iranian groups in suppressing Iraqi protests
Excerpts from the testimony of ‘Mohammed,’ an individual close to the PMU October 27, 2019 Can you describe what is happening and the...
MECRA
Oct 29, 20194 min read
The US Syria withdrawal Oct 6-23: Documents, maps and confusion
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN On October 6, 2019 US President Donald Trump announced the US would withdraw from part of Syria, paving the way for...
MECRA
Oct 24, 20198 min read
PHOTO ESSAY: The refugees fleeing Turkey's offensive in Syria
A photo essay shows refugees who arrived after fleeing fighting and the Turkish offensive in Syria. They arrived to refugee camps in...
MECRA
Oct 19, 20191 min read
Reactions of Iraqi political leaders to protests
Four days of protests in Iraq, in which dozens had been killed by October 4 and thousands injured, have brought only limited reactions...
MECRA
Oct 4, 20194 min read
On the frontlines of the protests in Baghdad: "Friday we will see armed struggle"
What follows is an interview with a demonstrator who took part in the demonstrations in Baghdad on October 2 and 3. He spoke quickly and...
MECRA
Oct 4, 20196 min read
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