ERBIL — As the world focuses on the end of the US military presence in Afghanistan and the Taliban’s rapid takeover of most of the country, culminating with the handover of Kabul on Aug.15, Iraqis are watching closely.
Both Iraqis and Syrians have suffered a great deal from the Islamic State as well as the destruction caused by the fight to defeat it and are wary of what this watershed moment portends for their future.