|
Irak
|
06-12-2014, 03:55 AM
The US had chalked up some significant successes in courting Sunni groups to help fight al-Qaeda-linked jihadist terrorism. Without the Americans these arrangements quickly broke down. Sunnis found themselves increasingly the victims of the Shia-dominated government's security forces. BBC News - Six things that went wrong for Iraq Looks like pulling out was a big mistake, although Maliki and Syria next door arn't exactly helping Iraq is facing its gravest test since the US-led invasion more than a decade ago, after its army capitulated to Islamist insurgents who have seized four cities and pillaged military bases and banks, in a lightning campaign which seems poised to fuel a cross-border insurgency endangering the entire region. The extent of the Iraqi army's defeat at the hands of militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) became clear on Wednesday when officials in Baghdad conceded that insurgents had stripped the main army base in the northern city of Mosul of weapons, released hundreds of prisoners from the city's jails and may have seized up to $480m in banknotes from the city's banks. Iraqi officials told the Guardian that two divisions of Iraqi soldiers – roughly 30,000 men – simply turned and ran in the face of the assault by an insurgent force of just 800 fighters Iraq army capitulates to Isis militants in four cities | World news | The Guardian This is extraordinary. However, these people are so extreme (they were expelled from Al Queda!) that only a fraction of the population will support them. It's not widely appreciated that before the West had to deal with it (after 9/11), Islamic extremism tried for at least a decade to get hold in quite a number of countries (most notably Algeria) and they basically failed as a large part of the population simply doesn't subscribe to their ideas, much less their violence. But that's about the only upside here. There needs to be an army willing to fight them and there are no easy or palatable options. Realize that the main guy fighting them is Assad... Perhaps the Turks will get in after the kidnap of 80 of their citizens (many from the Mosul consulate), but even that would be a distinctly mixed blessing as for sure the Kurds in Northen Irak would not like to see that happening.
06-13-2014, 01:50 AM
ISIS has published rules of conduct for residents of the Iraqi city of Mosul and its surrounding province. In a statement, it says all Muslim residents are ordered to attend the mosque for the five daily prayers, while alcohol and smoking are banned. Police and soldiers are told to repent or be killed, and women are ordered to dress decently and only go out if necessary.
06-13-2014, 01:52 AM
Iraq's appeals for a military help from the US have been rejected by the White House, which is "reluctant to open a new chapter in a conflict that President Obama has insisted was over when the US withdrew the last of its forces from Iraq in 2011",The New York Times reports.
06-13-2014, 04:57 AM
The link http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/12/world/meas...-the-isis/ suggests quite reasonably ISIS is Sunni Moslems put down by the Shia majority in Iraq now looking to create their own country in the north of Iraq and NW Syria.
Does not look like a train we want to get in front of. al-Maliki has been setting the stage for this revolt for quite some time. Now it is upon him and he want our help. It is tragic but seem inevitable in the absence of some powerful diplomacy from other Moslem nations.
06-13-2014, 08:14 AM
'ArtM72' pid='44915' datel Wrote:The link http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/12/world/meas...-the-isis/ suggests quite reasonably ISIS is Sunni Moslems put down by the Shia majority in Iraq now looking to create their own country in the north of Iraq and NW Syria. Does not look like a train we want to get in front of. al-Maliki has been setting the stage for this revolt for quite some time. Now it is upon him and he want our help. It is tragic but seem inevitable in the absence of some powerful diplomacy from other Moslem nations. Yes. We talk about polarization in the US, but the Middle East is quite something else still. Last decade it is being bombarded with satellite and other media financed by extremist, flaming the hate between Sunni's and Shia. This isn't going to end well. Maliki, instead of nation building, he's there only for his own Shia, although there are moderating circumstances in the form of Sunni dominance under Sadam. That wasn't exactly a walk in the park...
06-13-2014, 10:17 AM
'admin' pid='44933' datel Wrote: It is very difficult to admit failures such as the al-Malki government has been. Tougher still to see our news media providing no scorecard as to who has been right in their assessments over the years, and who has consistantly been wrong. Heard today the Fox News logo at the bottom left corner of the TV is now rotating because so many peoples' tubes have the original image burned in.
06-14-2014, 04:04 AM
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, appears to have turned to Iran because the U.S. has not acted quickly enough. President Barack Obama has yet to respond to Maliki's request for airstrikes, though he listed some of the help Iraq is already receiving (military equipment, intelligence assistance) and said no options have been ruled out -- with the significant exception of ground troops.
06-14-2014, 05:37 AM
Makes sense Maliki is turning to Iran as Iran is principally Shiite. Sunnis need to get smart and start pulling their punches and only extend to a defensible perimeter. This though might leave them without economic viability (read "oil"). Obama is smart to tie any military support to a viable political settlement.
|
|
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »
|
