The Heat: Iraq anti-government protests continue

The Heat

Embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has called for an end to anti-government protests that, he said, have cost the country “billions of dollars”.

More than 250 people have been killed since mass demonstrations began in early October. Thousands more have been injured. Demonstrators are demanding economic and political reform. Over the weekend at least three protesters were killed during an attack on the Iranian consulate in the Shia holy city of Karbala.

Both Iran and the United States are seen by protesters as having too much influence on Iraq’s “political elite”, at the expense of the people.

To discuss the ongoing protests in Iraq:

  • Daniel Serwer is the director of American Foreign Policy and Conflict Management at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
  • Namo Abdulla is a correspondent and the Washington bureau chief for the Rudaw Media Network.
  • Raed Jarrar is an Arab-American political advocate and blogger.
  • Mazin Al-Eshaiker served as a special adviser to the prime minister, and currently heads the Injah Development Center, an economic policy center based in Iraq.

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