A handful of personalities have consumed all the country’s political oxygen, dashing hopes for a truly pluralistic ecosystem and requiring creative engagement from U.S. officials.
Analysis: Iraq is on the verge of descending into chaos after Muqtada al-Sadr's withdrawal from the country's political system as anger over a lack of basic services and political deadlock threatens to boil over.
China's interests in Iraq, anchored in energy to quench its growing needs, are expanding; Beijing is building power plants, factories, water treatment facilities, as well as badly needed schools across the country