Over 13 years, the US spent at least $21.7 billion training and equipping the Iraqi army, police and counter-terror forces. Then, in the space of a few days in the summer of 2014. it all collapsed. As thousands of ISIS fighters poured over the border from Syria, as many as 90,000 soldiers and police deserted their posts.
The terror group seized major cities ... Show More
Mar 4
What’s the goal of America's war on Iran?
Almost 2,000 targets in Iran have been hit by the US in the first four days of the war. US Central Command says it has severely degraded the country's air defences and destroyed hundreds of ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. People in Iran, where the death toll is nearing ... Show More
6m 34s
Oct 2020
The Rise of Iraq's Shi'ite Militias
This week Jon is joined by Hassan Hassan, director of the program on non-state actors in geopolitics at the Center for Global Policy and the editor-in-chief of its new online journal, Newlines Magazine. Hassan talks to Jon about his late colleague, Hisham al-Hashimi, and the rese ... Show More
24m 7s
Oct 2019
The Story of a Kurdish General
<p>Turkey has invaded Kurdish-controlled territory in Syria, upending a fragile peace in the region and inciting sectarian bloodshed. The Trump administration has ordered a full evacuation of the 1,000 American troops that remain in northeastern Syria, leaving Mazlum Kobani, the ... Show More
24m 50s
May 2022
Haider al-Abadi: Iraq and the Fight Against the Islamic State
This week on Babel, Jon speaks with Dr. Haider al-Abadi, an Iraqi politician who served as prime minister from 2014 to 2018, while the country was battling the Islamic State Group (ISG). They talk about his decision making as prime minister, the Iraqi government's response to the ... Show More
32m 7s