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Promoting a free and secure Iraq since 1998, EPIC impacts U.S. policy to address the root causes and humanitarian consequences of conflict in Iraq. We help connect and support organizations and individuals taking humanitarian action for peace in Iraq. |
Latest from EPIC
EPIC statement on the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq
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| Hundreds of Iraqi teachers and government employees demonstrate outside Sulaymaniyah's Dept. of Education, protesting dismissals and other politically motivated retributions against opposition supporters. (EPIC Photo, Sulaymaniyah, IRAQ, Sept. 15, 2009) |
Today the combat phase of the United States military's role in Iraq officially ends. Today also marks a new beginning in our nation's relationship with Iraq and its people. Tonight President Obama will mark the occasion with his third Presidential address to the nation.
Here at EPIC, we welcome the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq and the opportunity to turn a new page in U.S.-Iraq relations. But like you, we believe that it is very important how that new relationship is defined.
Risking Their Lives to Protect Human Rights in Iraq
Sometimes at great risk to themselves, Iraqi human rights defenders provide vital background information, contacts, and documentation of violations to the international community. 
their work elevates the issues the world would rather ignore: targeted attacks on minorities in Iraq, threats faced by journalists, and even torture.
In Part Two of Ground Truth Project interview with Samer Muscati, a human rights researcher, talks about the important work activists are doing to defend their fellow Iraqis.
Read more of what Samer had to say about minority communities under siege.
From Our Blog
Kurdish Lawmaker Sums Up Problems With Iraqi Politics
Parliamentarian Mahmoud Othman, a leader in the Kurdish Alliance, was quoted in the November 28, 2009 New York Times summing up the problems with Iraqi politics. When asked about the possibility that the country would hold elections past the January 31, 2009 deadline set in the constitution he replied, “So what? Nothing in Iraq is very legitimate.” Every major piece of legislation and decision in Iraq is endlessly delayed because of power politics and a zero-sum attitude by law makers.
Former British Diplomat Confirms That U.N. Inspectors Were Means To War With Iraq
On November 24, 2009 England began its third inquiry into the Iraq War, this time headed by John Chilcot. On November 26 Britain’s former ambassador to the United States Christopher Meyer testified.
Maliki Returns To Sectarian Politics
On October 1, 2009 Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki officially announced his State of Law list that would compete in the 2010 parliamentary elections.
Fadhil Sons of Iraq Leader Sentenced To Death
On November 20, 2009 the head of the Sons of Iraq (SOI) in Baghdad’s Fadhil district, Adil al-Mashhadani, was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court. He was charged with the murder of a girl whose mother complained to him about the violence in the neighborhood during the sectarian war. Mashhadani was originally arrested in late March 2009, which set off a day of fighting between Iraqi and U.S.
VP Hashemi Shoots Himself In The Foot With Veto Of Iraqi Election Law
On November 8, 2009 Iraq’s parliament finally passed an election bill after weeks of delay. Ten days later Vice President Tarqi al-Hashemi vetoed it.
Iraq’s Displaced Forgotten In Debate Over Election Law
Iraq’s parliament has spent months debating and negotiating over the 2010 election law. While it has discussed several issues such as the status of Kirkuk and voting for overseas Iraqis, nothing has really been said about Iraq’s internally displaced. The result is that many will likely be disenfranchised as happened in the 2009 balloting.
Iraq Moves Down List Of Most Corrupt In The World
Transparency International is a German based organization that tracks corruption across the world. They recently released their 2009 Corruption Index that ranked and compared 180 countries. Since the U.S. invasion in 2003 Iraq has consistently been in the bottom 25 most corrupt nations. In fact, by 2006 it had dropped to the second or third most corrupt in Transparency International’s list.
Columbia University Charts Sectarian Cleansing of Baghdad
Dr. Michael Izady of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs recently gave an interview to the Swiss-based International Relations and Security Network. He presented a series of maps that he put together on Baghdad during Iraq’s civil war. They show the effects of the fighting as the capital went from a mixed Sunni-Shiite city, into a segregated one.
Problems With Integrating Sons of Iraq Continue
In May 2009 the Iraqi government took full responsibility for the payment of 95,000 Sons of Iraq (SOI). The SOI were put together by the United States when Sunni tribesmen and insurgents felt squeezed by the Shiite militias, Al Qaeda in Iraq, and U.S. forces. The Sunnis were willing to switch sides to forestall their annihilation, and hold on to what they had left.
Number of Displaced Returning Likely To Increase, Will Iraq Be Ready?
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the premier relief group working with Iraq’s displaced. They focus upon those who have lost their homes since the February 2006 Samarra bombing that is credited with starting the sectarian war. The IOM’s latest report notes that Iraq’s displaced still face many problems, and that the country’s provinces, especially Baghdad will face an increasing number of returns, which they may not be ready for.
