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النسخة العربية
  • Politics
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  • US invasion of Iraq
Donald Trump's penchant for pursuing the news he wants, rather than the information his intelligence services give him, echoes past White House mistakes, not least over Iraq. Sara Padovan

Trump’s selective intelligence on Iran echoes past missteps

Determined to show that Saddam Hussein possessed WMDs to justify the US invasion of Iraq, George W. Bush prioritised intel that supported his preferred outcome

Christopher Phillips 02 July 2025
In this photograph provided by the Syrian news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (L) talks with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell May 3, 2003 in Damascus. Getty

Khaddam Files: Powell hands al-Assad list of demands

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

Ibrahim Hamidi 30 March 2024
On the eve of America’s invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Syrian and Iranian leaders met to consider their options. In part 6 of a seven-part series, Al Majalla reveals their shared concerns and hopes. Al Majalla

Khaddam Files: Khamenei-Assad plot to turn post-Saddam Iraq into America's 'new Vietnam'

On the eve of America's invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Syrian and Iranian leaders met to consider their options. In part 6 of a seven-part series, Al Majalla reveals their shared concerns and hopes.

Ibrahim Hamidi 29 March 2024
US Senator Joseph Biden (R), D-Delaware, speaks to the press in Doha 8 December 2002 as Senator Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, looks on after the two senators visited the As-Saliyah base. AFP

Khaddam Files: Americans in Damascus

Joe Biden, Chuck Hagel, and Colin Powell debated with Bashar al-Assad on their intent to get rid of Saddam. In part 5 of a seven-part series, Al Majalla reveals what was discussed for the first time.

Ibrahim Hamidi 27 March 2024
Picture released by the Lebanese Prime Minister's office shows US President George W. Bush (R) shaking hands with Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri after their meeting in Washington on 17 April 2002. AFP

Khaddam Files: Bush tells Hariri of intention to remove Saddam

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.

Ibrahim Hamidi 23 March 2024
Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw (L) meets with Iranian foreign ministry official Mohsen Aminzadeh at Tehran's Mehrabad airport 09 October 2002. AFP

Khaddam Files: US-Iran backchannels ahead of Iraq invasion

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.

Ibrahim Hamidi 22 March 2024
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. Al Majalla

Khaddam Files: Barzani briefs al-Assad on CIA visit

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.

Ibrahim Hamidi 21 March 2024
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. Al Majalla

Exclusive: How Syria and Iran plotted over a post-Saddam Iraq

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.

Ibrahim Hamidi 18 March 2024
US officials insist rescinding the law will not affect US counter-terrorism support in Iraq   Getty, Shutterstock

20 years later, US law that authorised Iraq war likely to be rescinded

US officials insist rescinding the law will not affect US counter-terrorism support in Iraq  

Al Majalla - London 20 April 2023
Bolton, one of the architects of the Iraq war, says by removing Saddam from power, the threat of Iraqi WMD was eliminated in perpetuity. AFP

John Bolton: No regrets over Saddam removal

20 years after the US invasion of Iraq, the Washington veteran says by removing Saddam from power, the threat of Iraqi WMD was eliminated in perpetuity

Con Coughlin 19 April 2023
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Sara Padovan
Politics

Changing Baghdad’s locks: US pressure key to breaking Iran’s grip

03 August 2025

Is Iraq finally stepping out from under Iran's shadow? Al Majalla covers the story from different angles and perspectives.

Al Majalla - London
Hidaya, a 31-year-old Palestinian mother, carries her sick 18-month-old son Mohammed al-Mutawaq, who is also displaying signs of malnutrition, inside their tent at the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 24, 2025. Omar AL-QATTAA/AFP
Culture & Social Affairs

The culmination of policy: Israel’s use of starvation in Gaza

07 August 2025

What began 18 years ago is coming to a head today: the intentional, purposeful denial of food as a biological weapon that kills a population slowly, after first breaking its will

Hala Al-Naji
UN Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA) Under-Secretary-General Tom Fletcher holds the
Global Humanitarian Overview 2025 report during a press conference in Geneva on December 3, 2024. Elodie le Maou / AFP
Profiles

Tom Fletcher: the senior UN man calling out Israeli 'cynicism'

03 August 2025

A former British diplomat now advising the UN Security Council has accused Israel of "making starvation a bargaining chip". Surprise, surprise, this did not go down well in Tel Aviv. Who is he?

Con Coughlin
Solar-powered lights on a mountain road in Lebanon.
 Shutterstock
Business & Economy

Powering the periphery: how renewables are reshaping rural development in the Arab world

07 August 2025

Beyond the flashy projects of the Gulf, a quieter contribution to the energy transition is underway across North Africa and the Levant

Jessica Obeid
Jason Lyon
Science & Technology

Could China gatecrash the US-Gulf AI wedding?

09 August 2025

America offers the technology and the know-how, while the Gulf brings the capital and the energy, but are the Gulf states putting all their AI eggs in the US basket?

Shirley Ze Yu

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OPINIONS

Rare earths race: a global battle for minerals has begun

Khaled Kassar
Khaled Kassar

Kuwait’s administrative reboot: quiet reforms, real results

Neil Quilliam
Neil Quilliam

China's rare earths edge puts US industry on the back foot

Al Majalla - London

A new Trump-sponsored link in the South Caucasus causes a stir

Omer Onhon
Omer Onhon
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