The fight against ISIS helped to bring parts of Iraq’s deeply fractured society closer together, but that fragile unity is now under pressure. While the Kurds are expected to vote in an historic popular referendum on September 25 to pursue independence, the lack of political inclusion and security for Sunni Arabs—which facilitated ISIS’s rapid expansion—remains unsolved. Meanwhile, Iran’s growing influence in Baghdad and its support of militias throughout Iraq has added to the sectarian divide and the country’s political dysfunction.
On October 5, Hudson Institute hoted a panel discussion on the implications of the referendum and the way forward. Hudson Senior Fellows Eric Brown and Jonas Parello-Plesner, having recently returned from Kurdistan, examined how the scheduled referendum is likely to impact stability and political reconstruction after ISIS, as well as discussions both between Erbil and Baghdad and among Kurdistan, Turkey, and Iran, which all have independent interests in the referendum’s outcome. Hudson Adjunct Fellow Michael Pregent visited Mosul after it was liberated from ISIS and will assess Iran’s positions and influence throughout Iraq and what it means for unity and for U.S. national interests.
Please join US Army SMDC commander Lieutenant General Sean A. Gainey and Hudson Senior Fellow Timothy A. Walton for a discussion with participants on what role Army forces should play in space operations.
Join Hudson for a conversation with the new generation of North Korean refugees on the future of American and South Korean policy to address the North Korean human rights challenge.
Join Hudson Institute as expert panels take stock of the Falun Gong crackdown over the past quarter of a century.
National Security Council Director for Cyber Policy Israel Soong joins Hudson’s Miles Yu for a conversation on why technology is crucial to Beijing’s plans and how the US can maintain the lead in its cyber and technology competition with China.
