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# Covert Contact 83: Iraq’s Consolidation and the Kurds
- URL: https://johnwlittle.com/covert-contact-83-iraqs-consolidation-and-the-kurds/
- Published: 2017-11-06T13:00:43.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-17T15:23:20.000Z
- Description: Iraq has made surprising gains in its effort to undermine or eliminate Kurdish autonomy since mid-October when we first visited this issue. Phillip Smyth joins me again to look at recent developments and the potential implications.
- Author: John Little
- Tags: Covert Contact, Podcast, Iraq, Iran, Syria, ISIS, Kurdistan, Interviews, Phillip Smyth, Fred Burton

Iraq has made surprising gains in its effort to undermine or eliminate Kurdish autonomy since mid-October when we first visited this issue. Phillip Smyth joins me again to look at recent developments and the potential implications.

[Phillip Smyth](https://twitter.com/PhillipSmyth?ref=johnwlittle.com) is a researcher at the University of Maryland who focuses on Iran-backed Shiite proxy groups. He is also widely known for his [Hizballah Cavalcade](http://jihadology.net/hizballah-cavalcade?ref=johnwlittle.com) project on [Jihadology](http://jihadology.net/?ref=johnwlittle.com).

This episode also includes another short recollection from Fred Burton. Fred is the former deputy chief of counterterrorism at the Diplomatic Security Service and the author of the best-selling memoir [GHOST: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent](https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Confessions-Counterterrorism-Fred-Burton-ebook/dp/B00139VURE/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509321671&sr=8-1&keywords=ghost+confessions+of+a+counterterrorism+agent&ref=johnwlittle.com). His other works include [Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice](https://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Shadows-Special-Lifelong-Assassin/dp/0230620558/ref=asap%5Fbc?ie=UTF8&ref=johnwlittle.com) and [Under Fire: The Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi](https://www.amazon.com/Under-Fire-Untold-Attack-Benghazi/dp/1250041104/ref=asap%5Fbc?ie=UTF8&ref=johnwlittle.com).

[Covert Contact now has a Patreon page](https://www.patreon.com/covertcontact?ref=johnwlittle.com). With your support I will be able to ramp up show production (eventually producing episodes daily) and release patron only episodes and updates. Reasonable, informed, and non-partisan discussion of critical issues has never been more important. I hope that you will help push Covert Contact to the next level.