Iraq

Biden is hosting Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani in Washington next week. While the two leaders have a host of festering issues to iron out, Iraq seems to be the least of US concerns at the moment.

Five years after its decimation in the Middle East, the terrorist group that once proclaimed a 'state' has used Africa and Central Asia to regroup, and is now resurgent in its former heartlands.

The US wanted Syria to abstain from meddling in Iraqi affairs, deny refuge to former Saddam loyalists, expel Palestinian organisations from Syria, and withdraw Syrian military forces from Lebanon

A bold move from the KDP comes with major implications. It reveals deepening constitutional fault lines and growing unease over Iranian influence.

In part 4 of a 7-part series, Al Majalla sheds light on a meeting between Rafic Hariri and George W. Bush. The Lebanese PM left with an understanding as to Saddam's fate and with a message for Iran.

Before it invaded Iraq in 2003, the US was trying to reassure Iran that it would not be targeted next. In part 3 of a 7-part series, Al Majalla publishes private discussions held in Damascus.

The Kurdish leader was party to secret talks with the Americans in the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq. In part 2 of a 7-part series, Al Majalla reveals for the first time what he told the Syrians.

In 2002, the CIA informed Iraqi Kurds of its plan for regime change. In part 1 of a 7-part series, Al Majalla publishes first-hand accounts of the conversations that would change the Middle East.

Damascus and Tehran wanted invading US troops to get stuck in a 'new Vietnam' and set up an operations room headed by their top lieutenants to cause havoc, never-before-published documents show.

After the US invasion in 2003 toppled Saddam, Shiite clerics in Najaf helped the country get back on its feet. Its views are still sought, shaping the direction of Iraq today.