Reports: Hashd al-Shaabi and Iraq forces enter Sinjar
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN After the rapid conquest of Kirkuk on October 16th there are reports that the Iraqi Security Forces and particularly the Hashd al-Shaabi or Shia militias, have […]
Many questions remain about Kirkuk debacle
By Seth J. Frantzman The rapid and unprecedented fall of Kirkuk on October 16, 2017 will likely be remembered as a turning point in Kurdish history and perhaps Iraq’s history. […]
We should treat “likes” as we do taxes and redistribute them…
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN A recent article says that two of the creators of the “like” button on Facebook have had a re-think. They now see it “as an ‘attention […]
Westerners worry about “political families” in Kurdistan, but not their own country or the Gulf
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN Every once in a while I see an article by someone from the West who is writing about the Kurdistan Regional Government, the autonomous region in […]
Thoughts on Western society’s mixed messages on sexual harassment
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN The more revelations emerge about the rape culture in Hollywood, the groping and abuse, the more one has to wonder about the mixed messages we’ve been […]
Pakistan and how ISIS won
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN On Wednesday October 11 a court in Pakistan sentenced three Muslim men to death for “blasphemy.” According to the report “In his verdict, Additional District and […]
The Iran deal was pure genius…by Iran’s policymakers
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN On October 1 Human Rights Watch published a report claiming that Iran was recruiting children to fight in Syria. I had written about this in March, […]
The questions people must ask about the Weinstein scandal and Hollywood’s rape culture
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN It was “an open secret to many in Hollywood and beyond,” writes Ronan Farrow in the new piece at The New Yorker on revelations about the Harvey Weinstein […]
Reporting on the Kurdistan independence referendum by Seth J. Frantzman
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN On September 25 millions of residents of the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq turned out to vote in an independence referendum. It had been months […]
People who are afraid to set foot in Iraq, still think they know what’s best for it
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN It is always interesting to see the reaction of people, especially from the West, to those traveling to Iraq, whether to the Kurdish part or the […]
Seth J. Frantzman - author - analyst 