Aftandilian in Arab Weekly on Fighting ISIS in Northern Iraq
Gregory Aftandilian, Lecturer at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, published a recent Op-Ed on the struggle against Islamic State-held villages near Mosul and the resulting tension around the governance of Northern Iraq.
Aftandialian’s August 28, 2016 Op-Ed, entitled “Ethnic Tensions Rise as the Battle for Mosul Looms,” was published in The Arab Weekly.
From the text of the Op-Ed:
Military gains by Kurdish peshmerga forces against Islamic State-held villages near Mosul have raised tensions between Iraqi Arabs and Kurds over the governance of Arab areas of northern Iraq.
Iraqi government officials and some Shia militia forces have warned the Kurds not to enter Mosul — a mostly Sunni Arab city — when the major offensive begins. There seems to be little desire by the Kurds to do so, knowing how problematic it would be.
Kurdish media reports indicated that the offensive against the Islamic State-held villages that began August 14th started with heavy shelling and US air strikes followed by peshmerga ground operations. Despite strong resistance from Islamic State (ISIS), about 12 villages were taken by the peshmerga in relatively short order.
These moves were designed to tighten the noose around Mosul ahead of a major offensive to capture the city.
It also raised the question as to who would lead this major offensive and what happens when the city is eventually taken from ISIS.
You can read the entire Op-Ed here.
Aftandilian spent over 21 years in government service, most recently on Capitol Hill where he was foreign policy adviser to Congressman Chris Van Hollen (2007-2008), professional staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and foreign policy adviser to Senator Paul Sarbanes (2000-2004), and foreign policy fellow to the late Senator Edward Kennedy (1999). Learn more about him here.