Iraq: Issues in the 115th Congress Page: 4 of 27
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Iraq: Issues in the 115th Congress
Overview
Iraq's government declared military victory against the Islamic State organization (IS, aka
ISIS/ISIL) in December 2017, but insurgent attacks by remaining IS fighters threaten Iraqis as
they shift their attention toward recovery and the country's political future. Security conditions
have improved since the Islamic State's control of territory was disrupted (Figure 1 and Figure
2), but IS fighters are active in some areas of the country and security conditions are fluid.
Meanwhile, daunting resettlement, reconstruction, and reform needs occupy citizens and leaders.
Ethnic, religious, regional, and tribal identities remain politically relevant in Iraq, as do
partisanship, personal rivalries, economic disparities, and natural resource imbalances.
National legislative elections were held in May 2018, but results were not certified until August,
delaying the formal start of required steps to form the next government. Turnout was low relative
to past national elections, and campaigning reflected issues stemming from the 2014-2017
conflict with the Islamic State as well as preexisting internal disputes and governance challenges.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al Abadi sought reelection, but his electoral list's third-place showing
and lack of internal cohesion undermined his chances for a second term. He is serving in a
caretaker capacity as government-formation negotiations continue. In September 2018, a
statement from the office of leading Shia religious leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani called for
political forces to choose a prime minister from beyond the ranks of current or former officials.
Nevertheless, on October 2, Iraq's Council of Representatives chose former Kurdistan Regional
Government Prime Minister and former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih as Iraq's
President. Salih, in turn, named former Oil Minister Adel Abd al Mahdi as Prime Minister-
designate and directed him to assemble a slate of cabinet officials for approval by the Council of
Representatives (COR).
Paramilitary forces have grown stronger and more numerous since 2014, and have yet to be fully
integrated into national security institutions. Some figures associated with the Popular
Mobilization Forces (PMF) militias that were organized to fight the Islamic State participated in
the 2018 election campaign and won seats in the COR, including individuals with ties to Iran.
Since the ouster of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraq's Shia Arab majority has exercised new power
in concert with the Sunni Arab and Kurdish minorities. Despite ethnic and religious diversity and
political differences, many Iraqis advance similar demands for improved security, government
effectiveness, and economic opportunity. Large, volatile protests in southern Iraq during August
and September 2018 highlighted some citizens' outrage with poor service delivery and
corruption. Iraqi politicians have increasingly employed cross-sectarian political and economic
narratives in an attempt to appeal to disaffected citizens, but identity-driven politics continue to
influence developments across the country. Iraq's neighbors and other outsiders, including the
United States, are pursuing their respective interests in the country, at times in competition.
The Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq (KRI) enjoys considerable administrative autonomy under
the terms of Iraq's 2005 constitution, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) held
legislative elections on September 30, 2018. The KRG had held a controversial advisory
referendum on independence in September 2017, amplifying political tensions with the national
government and prompting criticism from the Trump Administration and the United Nations
Security Council. In October 2017, the national government imposed a ban on international
flights to and from the KRI, and Iraqi security forces moved to reassert security control of
disputed areas that had been secured by Kurdish forces after the Islamic State's mid-2014
advance. Much of the oil-rich governorate of Kirkuk-long claimed by Iraqi Kurds-returned to
national government control, and resulting controversies have riven Kurdish politics. Iraqi andCongressional Research Service
R45096 - VERSION 6 - UPDATED
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Blanchard, Christopher M. Iraq: Issues in the 115th Congress, report, October 4, 2018; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1393635/m1/4/?q=%22politics%20and%20government%22: accessed May 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.