To beat ISIS, kick out US-led coalition: No will to fight

Islamic State claims responsibility for Baghdad hotel bombs Fri, May 29 09:49 AM EDT image BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility on Friday for bombings outside two heavily fortified five-star hotels in the Iraqi capital that killed 10 people. In a statement, Islamic State said a suicide bomber called Abu Qutaiba had parked a car outside the Ishtar hotel in central Baghdad late on Thursday before driving another vehicle laden with 230 kg of explosives to the nearby Babylon hotel. The bomber detonated himself and the vehicle he was driving there around the same time the first car bomb exploded, "killing and wounding dozens of infidels", according to the statement. Iraqi authorities lifted a decade-old night-time curfew on Baghdad early this year, seeking to restore a sense of normality to the capital as security forces battle Islamic State insurgents who have overrun large parts of the country. But the rate of bombings in Baghdad has increased since then. Militants seized Ramadi, the Anbar provincial capital west of Baghdad, on May 17 in the most significant military setback to the government since a U.S.-led coalition launched a campaign of air strikes against Islamic State last August. (Reporting by Omar Fahmy and Saif Hameed; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Sharmine Narwani is a commentator and analyst of Middle East geopolitics. She tweets @snarwani Get short URL Published time: May 27, 2015 13:06 A car is engulfed by flames during clashes in the city of Ramadi (Reuters / Stringer) A car is engulfed by flames during clashes in the city of Ramadi (Reuters / Stringer) Trends Islamic State Tags Air Force, Arms, Army, Conflict, Drones, History, Human rights, Iran, Iraq, Israel, John Kerry, Lebanon, Mass media, Military, Opposition, Politics, Religion, Russia, Security, Syria, Terrorism, USA, Violence, War It’s been a bad time for foes of ISIS. Islamic State scored a neat hat-trick by invading strategic Ramadi in Iraq’s mainly Sunni Anbar province, occupying Syria’s historic gem Palmyra, and taking over Al-Tanf, the last remaining border crossing with Iraq. The multinational, American-led ‘Coalition’ launched last August to thwart Islamic State’s (IS, formerly ISIS) march across Syria and Iraq…did nothing. And so Baghdad and Washington are pointing fingers, each accusing the other of being asleep on the job. US Defense Secretary Ash Carter struck a low blow on Sunday in a CNN interview: “What apparently happened was that the Iraqi forces just showed no will to fight. They vastly outnumbered the opposing force. That says to me… that we have an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight and defend themselves.” Carter must have forgotten that Iraqis staved off an ISIS occupation of Ramadi for almost 18 months. He also forgot that it was Iraqis who defended and/or recovered Amerli, Suleiman Beg, Tuz Khurmatu, Jurf al-Sakhar, Jalula, Saadiyah, Khanaqin, Muqdadiyah, Baquba, Udhaim Dam, Tharthar Dam, Habbaniyah, Haditha, Al-Baghdadi, Mosul Dam, Mount Sinjar, Zumar, Erbil, Gwer, Makhmur, dozens of Christian villages in the Nineveh Plains, Tikrit, Samarra, Balad, Dhuluiya, Dujail, Ishaqi, Al-Alam, Al-Dour, Albu Ajil, Awja, Al-Mutassim, Mukayshifa, Ajil and Alas oilfields, Hamrin mountains, Baiji oil refinery, scores of villages in the provinces of Salaheddine, Diyala, Kirkuk, Anbar, and Babil – and the capital city, Baghdad. The Iraqis have shot back. Key MP Hakim al-Zamili blames Ramadi’s collapse on the US’s failure to provide “good equipment, weapons and aerial support” to troops. Deputy Prime Minister Saleh Mutlaq, himself a Sunni from Anbar Province, concluded that the Americans were coming up short in all areas. "The Coalition airstrikes are not enough to eliminate IS." Furthermore, the US policy of recruiting Sunni tribes for the fight, he added, was “too late” – it is "important but not enough." If ever there was an understatement, this is it. Washington’s long-stated objective of rallying together a vetted Sunni fighting force - or its equivalent in the form of a National Guard – has always served as a placeholder to avoid facing realities. One thing we have learned from IS gains in small and large Sunni towns alike, is that the extremist group prides itself on sleeper cells and alliances inside of these areas. Sunni tribes and families, both, are divided on their support of IS. And the militants ensure that everyone else falls in line through a brutal campaign of inflicting fear and pain indiscriminately. So the likelihood of a significant, anti-IS, well-trained and equipped Sunni fighting force emerging anytime soon is just about nil. So too is the idea of a US-led Coalition air force that can cripple Islamic State. Washington has run fewer sorties over Syria and Iraq in the nine months since inception of its air campaign, than Israel ran in its entire three-week Gaza blitz in 2008-09. Where were the American bombers when Ramadi and Palmyra were being taken? And why does the US Air Force only seem to engage in earnest when their Kurdish allies are being threatened – as in Kobani (Ain al-Arab), Syria, and Erbil in Iraq? Reuters Reuters US calculations for Syria & Iraq If actions speak louder than words, then Washington’s moves in the Mideast have been deafening. Forget talk of a ‘unified Iraq’ with a ‘strong central government’. And definitely forget loudly-proclaimed objectives of ‘training moderate forces’ to ‘fight off IS’ across the Jordanian and Turkish borders in Syria. That’s just talk. An objective look at US interests in the region paint an entirely different picture. The Americans seek to maintain absolute hegemony in the Mideast, even as they exit costly military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Their primary interests are 1) access to low cost oil and gas, 2) propping up Israel, and more recently, 3) undermining Russian (and Chinese) influence in the region. Clinging on to hegemony would be a whole lot easier without the presence of a powerful, independent Islamic Republic of Iran, which continues to throw a wrench in many of Washington’s regional projects. So hegemony is somewhat dependent on weakening Iran – and its supportive alliances. With the removal of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the US inadvertently extended Iran’s arc of influence in a direct geographic line to Palestine, leaving the Israeli colonial project vulnerable. Former President George W. Bush immediately took on the task of destroying this Resistance Axis by attempting to neuter Iranian allies Hezbollah, Syria and Hamas – and failed. The Arab Spring presented a fresh opportunity to regroup: the US and its Turkish and Persian Gulf allies swung into action to create conditions for regime-change in Syria. The goal? To break this geographic line from Iran - through Iraq, Syria and Lebanon - to Palestine. When regime-change failed, the goalpost moved to the next best plan: dividing Syria into several competing chunks, which would weaken the central state and create a pro-US ‘buffer’ along the border with Israel. Weakening the central government in Iraq by dividing the state along Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite lines has also been a priority for the Americans. You only have to look at recent US actions in Iraq to see this unspoken plan in action. Washington’s most intensive airstrikes to date were when Kurdish Erbil and its environs came under threat by ISIS. Congress has breached all international norms by ushering through legislation to directly arm Sunni and Kurdish militias and bypass the central government in Baghdad. And despite endless promises and commitments, the Americans have failed at every hurdle to train and equip the Iraqi Army and security forces to do anything useful. A weak, divided Iraq can never become a regional powerhouse allied with Iran and the Resistance Axis. Likewise a weak, divided Syria. But without US control over these central governments, the only way to achieve this is 1) through the creation of sectarian and ethnic strife that could carve out pro-US buffers inside the ‘Resistance states’ and/or 2) through the creation of a hostile ‘Sunni buffer’ to break this line from Iran to Palestine. A member of the Iraqi security forces stands guard during a patrol in the city of Ramadi (Reuters / Stringer) Today, America’s ‘Sunni buffer’ is Islamic State General Walid Sukariyya, a Sunni, pro-resistance member of Lebanon’s parliament, agrees. “ISIS will be better for the US and Israel than having a strong Iran, Iraq and Syria…If they succeed at this, the Sunni state in Iraq will split the resistance from Palestine.” While Washington has long sought to create a buffer in Iraq on the Syrian border, it has literally spent years trying – and failing – to find, then mold, representative Sunni Iraqi leaders who will comfortably toe a pro-American line. An example of this is the Anbar delegation US General John Allen handpicked last December for a DC tour, which excluded representatives of the two most prominent Sunni tribes fighting IS in Iraq – the Albu Alwan and Albu Nimr. A spokesman for the tribes, speaking to Al-Jarida newspaper, objected at the time: "We are fighting ISIL and getting slaughtered, while suffering from a shortage of weapons. In the meantime, others are going to Washington to get funds and will later be assigned as our leaders." But why ignore Sunni groups who are unreservedly opposed to IS? Aren’t they America’s natural constituents inside Iraq? The Takfiri extremist groups serve a purpose for Washington. IS has had the ability - where competing Sunni factions, with their ever-growing lists of demands from Baghdad, have not – to transform the US’ ‘buffer’ project into a physical reality. And Washington has not needed to expend blood, treasure or manpower to get the job done. Last week, the government watchdog group Judicial Watch published a secret (now declassified) 2012 US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) document that sheds light on American calculations in Syria. Written just 16 months into the 50-month-long Syrian conflict, the highly-redacted DIA document discloses the following key revelations: "The Salafist, the Muslim Brotherhood and AQI (Al-Qaeda in Iraq) are the major forces driving the insurgency in Syria." "The West, Gulf countries and Turkey support the opposition." The Syrian government has focused its priorities on securing pro-government areas and major transportation routes, which means "the regime decreased its concentration in areas adjacent to the Iraqi borders (al Hasaka and Der Zor).” "Opposition forces are trying to control the eastern areas (Hasaka and Der Zor) adjacent to the western Iraqi borders (Mosul and Anbar)…Western countries, the Gulf and Turkey are supporting these efforts." "The deterioration of the situation…creates the ideal atmosphere for AQI to return to its old pockets in Mosul and Ramadi…" "If the situation unravels there is the opportunity of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist Principality in eastern Syria, and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime, which is considered the strategic depth of the Shia expansion (Iraq and Iran)." The DIA brief makes clear that the escalation of conflict in Syria will create further sectarianism and radicalization, which will increase the likelihood of an ‘Islamic State’ on the Syrian-Iraqi border, one that would likely be manned by the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). So what did Washington do when it received this information? It lied. Less than one month after the DIA report was published, US Secretary of State John Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this about the Syrian opposition: "I just don't agree that a majority are Al-Qaeda and the bad guys. That's not true. There are about 70,000 to 100,000 oppositionists ... Maybe 15 percent to 25 percent might be in one group or another who are what we would deem to be bad guys…There is a real moderate opposition that exists.” Using the fabricated storyline of ‘moderate rebels’ who need assistance to fight a ‘criminal Syrian regime’, the US government kept the Syrian conflict buzzing, knowing full well the outcome would mean the establishment of a Sunni extremist entity spanning the Syrian-Iraqi border…which could cripple, what the Americans call, “the strategic depth of the Shia expansion.” As US Council on Foreign Relations member and terrorism analyst Max Abrahms conceded on Twitter: "The August 5, 2012 DIA report confirms much of what Assad has been saying all along about his opponents both inside & outside Syria." Fakhreddin's Castle (top), is pictured in the historical city of Palmyra, Syria (Reuters / Nour Fourat) How to fight this American “Frankenstein” Since last year, numerous Iraqi officials have complained about the US airdropping weapons to IS - whether deliberately or inadvertently remains disputed. Military sources, on the other hand, have made clear that the US-led Coalition ignores many of the Iraqi requests for air cover during ground operations. If the US isn't willing to play ball in Iraq's existential fight against IS, then why bother with the Americans at all? Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is viewed as a ‘weak’ head of state - a relatively pro-American official who will work diligently to keep a balance between US interests and those of Iraq's powerful neighbor, Iran. But after the disastrous fall of Ramadi, and more bad news from inside Syria, Abadi has little choice but to mitigate these losses, and rapidly. The prime minister has now ordered the engagement of thousands of Hashd al-Shaabi (Shiite paramilitary groups, commonly known as the Popular Mobilization Forces) troops in the Anbar to wrest back control of Ramadi. And this - unusually - comes with the blessings of Anbar's Sunni tribes who voted overwhelmingly to appeal to the Hashd for military assistance. Joining the Hashd are a few thousand Sunni fighters, making this a politically palatable response. If the Ramadi operation goes well, this joint Sunni-Shiite effort (which also proved successful in Tikrit) could provide Iraq with a model to emulate far and wide. The recent losses in Syria and Iraq have galvanized IS' opponents from Lebanon to Iran to Russia, with commitments pouring in for weapons, manpower and funds. If Ramadi is recovered, this grouping is unlikely to halt its march, and will make a push to the Syrian border through IS-heavy territory. There is good reason for this: the militants who took Ramadi came across the Syrian border - in full sight of US reconnaissance capabilities. A senior resistance state official told me earlier this year: “We will not allow the establishment of a big (extremist) demographic and geographic area between Syria and Iraq. We will work to push Syrian ISIS inside Syria and Iraqi ISIS inside Iraq.” Right now, the key to pushing back Takfiri gains inside Syria's eastern and northwestern theaters lies in the strengthening of the Iraqi military landscape. And an absolute priority will be in clearing the IS ‘buffer’ between the two states. Eighteen months ago, in an analysis about how to fight jihadist militants from the Levant to the Persian Gulf, I wrote that the solution for this battle will be found only within the region, specifically from within those states whose security is most compromised or under threat: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran. I argued that these four states would be forced to increase their military cooperation as the battles intensified, and that they would provide the only 'boots on the ground' in this fight. And they will. But air cover is a necessary component of successful offensive operations, even in situations of unconventional warfare. If the US and its flimsy Coalition are unable or unwilling to provide the required reconnaissance assistance and the desired aerial coverage, as guided by a central Iraqi military command, then Iraq should look elsewhere for help. Iran and Russia come to mind - and we may yet get there. Iraq and Syria need to merge their military strategies more effectively - again, an area where the Iranians and Russians can provide valuable expertise. Both states have hit a dangerous wall in the past few weeks, and the motivation for immediate and decisive action is high today. Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah is coming into play increasingly as well - its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has recently promised that Hezbollah will no longer limit itself geographically, and will go where necessary to thwart this Takfiri enemy. The non-state actors that make up the jihadist and Takfiri core cannot be beaten by conventional armies, which is why local militias accustomed to asymmetric warfare are best suited for these battles. Criticizing the US's utterly nonexistent response to the Ramadi debacle yesterday, Iran's elite Quds Force Commander Qassem Suleimani points out: "Today, there is nobody in confrontation with [IS] except the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as nations who are next to Iran or supported by Iran.” The Iranians have become central figures in the fight against terror, and are right next door to it - as opposed to Washington, over 6,000 miles away. If the US has any real commitment to the War on Terror, it should focus on non-combat priorities that are also essential to undermine extremism: 1) securing the Turkish and Jordanian borders to prevent any further infiltration of jihadists into Syria and Iraq, 2) sanctioning countries and individuals who fund and weaponize the Takfiris, most of whom are staunch US allies, now ironically part of the ‘Coalition’ to fight IS, and 3) sharing critical intelligence about jihadist movements with those countries engaged in the battle. It is time to cut these losses and bring some heavyweights into this battle against extremism. If the US-directed Coalition will not deliver airstrikes under the explicit command of sovereign states engaged at great risk in this fight, it may be time to clear Iraqi and Syrian airspace of coalition jets, and fill those skies with committed partners instead. MORE: The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT. Agencies BAGHDAD: A senior ISIS figure known as “the blind judge” has made an appearance in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, asserting the militant group’s dominion over it as security forces and Shiite militias prepare a counterattack. Residents of Ramadi said that a blind man with one hand and his head shrouded had delivered a speech in the Anbar provincial capital’s main mosque after evening prayers Wednesday. They did not know who he was but recognized him to be a senior figure because he was flanked by a large number of guards and said his accent indicated he was Iraqi. Iraqi security expert Hisham al-Hashimi identified the man as Ali Attiya al-Jubouri, who is also known as Abu Asim, or “the blind judge” of ISIS. “This cleric who appeared in Ramadi yesterday is very famous,” Hashimi said. “He is the second highest religious authority after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and the fifth man in the organization of ISIS.” Hashimi said the appearance of the blind judge was designed to win over residents of Ramadi, many of whom sided with the government and fended off the militants until they were finally overcome on May 17. Iraqi forces thwarted an attack by ISIS militants on their front line position east of Ramadi Thursday. Police and pro-government tribal fighters on the frontline in Husaiba al-Sharqiya, around 7 km east of Ramadi, said the militants had tried to cut them off from behind by crossing the Euphrates River at dawn. “They started the attack under cover of mortars and sniper shots, but we managed to abort it,” Sunni tribal leader Amir al-Fahdawi said. “We have enough troops deployed and a couple of tanks positioned near the bridge.” South of Ramadi, Shiite militia fighters along with police pressed an advance in al-Tash area late Wednesday but came under attack from an ISIS suicide bomber driving an armored vehicle packed with explosives. Police sources said seven militiamen had been killed and the forces, mainly Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilization militia force, were forced to retreat. Iraq announced an operation this week aimed at driving the militants out of their remaining strongholds in Salahuddin province as well as Anbar, most of which is under ISIS control. Separately, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Pentagon officials have begun to examine how the U.S. military could better equip and train Iraqi troops after the fall of Ramadi. Carter told reporters on his plane to Asia that he had convened a group of defense policy officials and military officers from U.S. Central Command and the Pentagon’s Joint Staff to look at how “we can enhance, hasten” the mission to train and equip Iraqi forces. The initial meeting took place Tuesday before Carter departed on a trip to Asia. “The events of recent weeks there [in Iraq] have highlighted the central importance of having a capable ground partner and that’s what the purpose of our train-and-equip program is. So we are looking,” Carter said. Also, the government has exhumed the remains of 470 people believed to have been executed by ISIS near Tikrit last year in what is known as the Speicher massacre, the health minister said. “We have exhumed the bodies of 470 Speicher martyrs from burial sites in Tikrit,” Adila Hammoud told a news conference in Baghdad, adding that the number was not final. In June 2014, armed men belonging or allied to ISIS abducted hundreds of young, mostly Shiite recruits from Speicher military base, just outside the city of Tikrit. They were then lined up in several locations and executed one by one, as shown in pictures and footage later released by ISIS. The highest estimate for the number of people killed stands at 1,700. A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on May 29, 2015, on page 10.

Bombs kill at least 35 across Iraq a day after mosque shooting. Oil field burns after ISIS retreat

Oil field burns after ISIS retreat A Kurdish tank faces toward ISIS lines on Aug. 26, 2014, a few kilometers away from the Khazir refugee camp, half way between Erbil and Mosul. (VIANNEY LE CAER/Pacific Press/LightRocket/Getty Images) By Kamaran al-Najar, Mohammed Hussein, Ben Lando, Ben Van Heuvelen and Staff of Iraq Oil Report Published Thursday, August 28th, 2014 Flames have engulfed oil facilities at the Ain Zalah field, in Iraq's Ninewa province, after extremist militants fled the area following an offensive by Kurdish Peshmerga forces backed by ongoing U.S. air strikes.The Peshmerga also captured the nearby town of Zummar, just west of the Mosul Dam, which sits along a main road between Ain Zalah and Mosul, according to a Peshmerga officer, local residents, and a senior official from Iraq's state-run North Oil Company (NOC).Militants have co... ============== Shiite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants of the Islamic State, carry a picture of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Najaf, Aug. 16, 2014. (photo by REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani) How did Sistani succeed in ousting Maliki? The political behavior of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is characterized by composure, planning and continuity of work. In the past few years, he has carried out a large share of his projects through such behavior. For some time it was thought that Sistani had lost the political game to former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, after the latter completely took control over internal affairs and created close ties with external actors who are influential in Iraq, in such a way that was expected to grant him another four years in power. Summary⎙ Print Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani's fortitude, persistence and commitment to a more inclusive Iraqi democracy, along with his outreach to Iran, thwarted Nouri al-Maliki's attempt to serve a third term as prime minister. Author Ali Mamouri Posted August 20, 2014 Translator(s)Steffi Chakti Maliki warned Sistani to give up on his political demands, as the latter spoke of the necessity of Maliki stepping down to create political consensus among the different components of the new government. Maliki also galvanized religious guides who are opposed to Sistani and persuaded them to directly support him. This, however, did not foil the meticulous planning of Sistani, which he has been developing for a long time to protect the democratic process in Iraq. The role that Sistani plays is delicate and difficult and stirs, at times, controversy; there is debate as to whether religious figures have the right to take political positions in a country where the people elect representatives to take political decisions. Maliki referred to this electoral process in strongly opposing Sistani's demands. However, it is impossible to properly debate this issue without taking into account the social situation in Iraq, the course of democratic rotation of power in the country and the political work style of Sistani. Iraq is still a collective society, in which political decisions are made by societal authority: tribal leaders, clerics and the like who have influence over political decision-making. This poses a challenge to the democratic process in the country as elections constitute a tool that influential social figures use to preserve and expand their power. It is also used to remove democracy’s true character, which stipulates that people make free decisions. This social characteristic of Iraqi society has constituted a real challenge for Sistani, who strove to aid the democratic course without being embroiled in the political work. Such an embroilment would contradict Sistani’s principles and beliefs that Iraq should adopt a civil, nonreligious system of governance. Post-2003, Sistani tried to face this challenge by taking on the role of mediator between the people and the government on the one hand, and between the political parties participating in the government. His door was always open for all ethnic and religious components, and he closely followed up their legitimate demands. At the same time, he did not take sides as he endeavored to find a common ground between all the parties and ensured that they all participate in the governance in order to protect the country’s stability. When it comes to the recent crisis, it would have been easy for Sistani to call for Maliki to step down through the Shiite parties in parliament that are affiliated with him, or by calling on civil disobedience which would have led to the toppling of Maliki within a few hours. Sistani, however, called on Maliki to step down and did not ask the Shiite opposition to take a strong stance that would render the situation tenser than it already was. Moreover, Sistani did not intervene in the political agreements between the parties and coalitions. He did so to avoid contradicting his principles. Sistani, through his statements and the speeches of his deputies, insisted on national consensus. He called on Shiite parties to name a consensus candidate so that the Kurds and Sunnis would feel that the prime minister is for all. He also warned against clinging to the seat of power, especially on the part of those who are not accepted by everyone. All political parties figured that Sistani was alluding to Maliki, who wanted to impose himself on the parties who oppose him — which included Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis. On July 9, Sistani sent a letter, whose content was disclosed to Al-Monitor, to the Dawa Party, which plays a central role in the ruling State of Law Coalition, demanding the acceleration of the process of naming a consensus figure and the non-insistence on a figure that other parties oppose. The Dawa Party did not reveal this letter at the time for fear that it might negatively impact Maliki’s third term. The efforts of Sistani prevented Maliki from monopolizing power and compelling his rivals to succumb to his will. Choosing an alternative, however, was a thorny issue due to the intransigence of Iran in supporting Maliki. An Iranian source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Al-Monitor that Sistani informed Iranian authorities through his office in Qom that he refused Iranian interference in choosing the Iraqi prime minister. He asked Iran not to impose pressures on Shiite parties to talk them out of naming someone other than Maliki. The Iranian leadership was then persuaded to give up on Maliki even though Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian official who is in charge of the Iraqi issue, was still insisting on renewing Maliki’s term. This is why Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was assigned to communicate with the Iraqi parties to facilitate the naming of an alternative candidate instead of Soleimani, who previously took on similar tasks. After an agreement was reached over the new candidate, and internal and external obstacles were lifted, Maliki was still insisting on his right to a third term. According to Al-Monitor’s sources, Sistani was ready to adopt a stronger stance in the face of Maliki’s resistance during his Aug. 15 Friday sermon. The leading members of the Dawa Party knew, through mediators, that Sistani's stance would be decisive in case Maliki clung to power, especially after a national consensus was reached on Haider al-Abadi. This led Maliki to announce he was stepping down Aug. 14, a day before the Friday sermon. Sistani is playing the role of protector of the democratic course in Iraq. He does this by relying on the societal influence he draws from the religious power he has over a large spectrum of Iraqi society. However, this remarkable characteristic of Sistani is not guaranteed to be found in his successors. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/iraq-sistani-democratic-ways-successors-maliki.html#ixzz3BHCrLe9Z ===== Bomb explodes in Iraqi Kurdish capital Arbil : local TV Sat, Aug 23 12:35 PM EDT ARBIL Iraq (Reuters) - A bomb exploded on Saturday in Arbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, a relatively stable region which has recently come under threat from advancing Islamic State militants, local television network Rudaw reported. TV footage from the scene showed firefighters dousing the charred remains of a car, which blew up outside a technical college on the road from Arbil to Kirkuk. Several people were wounded but none killed in the blast, Rudaw said. Kurdish security forces have been on high alert since Islamic State militants overran large swathes of Iraq, opening a more than 1,000 km-long (600-mile) front with the semi-autonomous region. The last major attack in Arbil was in September, when militants launched a coordinated suicide and car bomb attack on the headquarters of the security services. Kurdistan's relative security has attracted some of the world's largest oil companies including ExxonMobil and Chevron Corp to the region, but many of them have put their operations on hold or withdrawn staff since the Islamic State sweep earlier this month. (Reporting by Isabel Coles; Editing by Michael Georgy) ================= Qatar condemns Islamic State and rejects funding accusations Sat, Aug 23 12:35 PM EDT LONDON (Reuters) - Qatar condemned on Saturday the Islamic State's "barbaric" murder of U.S. journalist James Foley and flatly rejected accusations of giving financial support to the militant group. Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiyah's comments came a day after the German government apologized for remarks by a minister accusing Qatar of financing Islamic State militants. Attiyah described the recent comments as ill-informed.

"Qatar does not support extremist groups, including ISIS, in any way. We are repelled by their views, their violent methods and their ambitions," he said in a statement released in London. "The vision of extremist groups for the region is one that we have not, nor will ever, support in any way."

Qatar has previously denied supporting Islamist insurgents who have seized wide areas of northern Iraq, northern and eastern Syria. But diplomats and opposition sources say while Qatar supports relatively moderate rebels also backed by Saudi Arabia and the West, it also has backed more hardline factions seeking to set up a strict Islamic state. Attiyah said Qatar's goal was to do all it could to see peace and justice across the region and called for collective action to end the violence in Iraq and Syria. He urged the Iraqi government to provide safety and security for its citizens and vowed that Qatar, a tiny but wealthy Gulf Arab state, would continue to provide humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people. "The killing of innocent civilians and the forced flight of hundreds of thousands of people threatens the very existence of Iraq and the peace and security of the entire region," he said. "So while, along with many other countries from the Middle East and wider international community, we have supported the Syrian opposition to the Assad regime, we do not fund ISIS or other extremist factions." (Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Rosalind Russell) So #Iraq media is (once more) reporting #ISIS fleeing Yet another Sunni bloc (from Anbar) suspends #Iraq govt formation negotiations protesting #Diyala mosque attack. Amid violence, Shia alliance and Kurds meet. "Agree to present negotiation demands shortly". Sounds very 2010. Maliki orders investigatory committee after Sunni Diyala mosque attack; seems to acknowledge Shia involvement. The US govt seems less interested in rescuing the Shia Turkmen of #Amerli than the Yazidis of Sinjar. To #ISIS, they're the same. Calls for greater consistency in US humanitarian intervention in #Iraq: Why Jabal Sinjar but not #Amerli? #Iraq PM designate @HaiderAlAbadi met with Turkish ambassador in Baghdad (@frkkymkc) today. This is good news. In forming next #Iraq govt, @HaiderAlAbadi is assisted by committee of 7 Shia alliance leaders, 4 from Maliki bloc. Sunni politicians sounding upbeat about ongoing negotiations to form new government by @HaiderAlAbadi. #Iraq army today reportedly sending military forces to break #ISIS siege of mainly Turkmen town of Amerli (Salahadin). Asymmetry in #ISIS victim protection - James Foley vs thousands of Iraqis and Syrians - is sadly becoming a worrisome subject in itself. Imams in #Haditha urge citizens to revolt against #ISIS and to confront secterianism — Iraq. http://bit.ly/1AIWz23 #Maliki requested Peshmerga deployment to #Kirkuk: #KRG spokesman Erbil, Asharq Al-Awsat—Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) spokesman Fouad Hussein informed Asharq Al-Awsat that Peshmerga forces had deployed to the Iraqi city of Kirkuk to combat the encroaching presence of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters on the basis of a request from outgoing Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had faced criticism from some sections of Iraqi following the troops deployment, with some saying that the Kurdish forces were exploiting ISIS’s presence to take control of the disputed city. Peshmerga forces were deployed to Kirkuk—which many Kurds view as the historic capital of Kurdistan—to repel ISIS’s northwards advance following the terrorist group’s capture of Mosul last month. However KRG spokesman has now said that the Peshmerga’s deployment was based on a request from the office of the prime minister. He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “On July 10, Hamid Al-Mousawi, the executive director of Maliki’s office, telephoned me. He said that he was speaking on behalf of the prime minister and requested that Peshmerga forces enter Kirkuk because there were fears that ISIS was going to take control of the city. I said, ‘Very well, we will enter to protect Kirkuk.’ Therefore, this means that the Peshmerga forces entered the city at Maliki’s request.” “If ISIS had been able to gain control of Kirkuk, this would have been a massive calamity for the Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, They would have been able to gain control of the oil wells and pipeline,” he added. Hussein outlined the current situation on the ground in northern Iraq, stressing that Kurdish Peshmerga forces are on the advance. “The threat from ISIS towards the [Kurdistan] region remains present, but at the same time we are resisting. Although there have been some setbacks due to operational flaws, [but] the Peshmerga forces have been restructured and now the operation is taking place at the hands or regional forces while the terrorist ISIS forces are in retreat,” Hussein told Asharq Al-Awsat. “The front-lines of our confrontation with ISIS extends approximately 1,500 km from the outskirts of Mosul to south of [the city of] Khanaqin. The confrontation today is taking place on the outskirts of Mosul after we liberated and took control of Mosul dam, while there are also confrontations taking place on the outskirts of Kirkuk and Jalula,” he added. =========== Sunnis do not believe Abadi is solution to Iraq's crises Sheikh Mohammed al-Bajari, a member of the local council in Fallujah — the city west of Baghdad in Anbar province that has been under heavy shelling and military operations for over 18 months now — said he does not believe “Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stepping down and Haider al-Abadi designated to form the new government will solve the Sunnis’ problem with the federal government in Baghdad.” Summary⎙ Print Members of the local council in Anbar province say that replacing Nouri al-Maliki with Haider al-Abadi will not solve the problems Sunnis have endured under Maliki’s rule. Author Omar al-Jaffal Posted August 21, 2014 Translator(s)Cynthia Milan Bajari described Maliki’s stepping down and Abadi’s designation as “a simple change of faces.” Both Sunni and Shiite political blocs believe Maliki’s methods of exclusion against Sunnis in Iraq, besides limiting the political decision-making to himself, aggravated the security situation.” Since last December, Anbar province has been witnessing large-scale military operations, conducted by the army against the Islamic State (IS), after the army had scattered the tents of the protesters who raised their demands to the central government for being subjected to several injustices such as random arrests. However, Bajari, who does not blame Maliki alone, told Al-Monitor over the phone, “Sunni officials and deputies were the main reason behind the Sunnis’ tragedy and the ongoing war that resulted in hundreds of victims. The complete political process started off wrong.” He said, “The constitution was written in a chaotic manner, making Iraq and its people suffer several crises.” Bajari said, “The demands of the citizens of Anbar included the annulment of the constitution, writing a new one and restructuring the armed forces on a professional and patriotic basis. We also demanded the annulment of the de-Baathification law and the release of the innocent people who were arrested, as well as the annulment of Article 4 of the Anti-Terrorism Law. These demands require a firm decision; Abadi will not be able to achieve this.” “Replacing Maliki with Abadi, or anyone else, is not going to solve the tragedy suffered by Iraqis in general, and Sunnis in particular,” said Bajari, stressing, “There should be a trial against Maliki and his entire political system for all the crimes he committed against the Iraqis.” Another member of Fallujah's local council, Muthni al-Aani, seems rather more flexible than Bajari. Aani thinks there should be negotiations with the government, but limits these negotiations to whom he called “rebels.” He told Al-Monitor over the phone, “Only the rebels have the right to negotiate with the government. They are the ones leading the revolution, and they will decide whether or not to negotiate with the government.” He said, “Generally speaking, as local officials, we have witnessed the bloodshed and crimes committed by Maliki against Sunnis. Yet, neither Abadi nor any other politician, whether Sunni or Shiite, objected to Maliki’s unspeakable crimes against humanity.” A member of the general military council for the tribal rebels in Anbar, who wished to remain anonymous, told Al-Monitor, “The military council for tribal rebels in Anbar is waiting for an initiative showing the new prime minister’s goodwill. This initiative should include withdrawing all army divisions, militias and SWAT forces from Anbar completely. It should also grant all displaced families and families of the martyrs and wounded compensation for all the psychological, material and moral sufferings they have endured for the past months.” He added, “One of the main conditions for dialogue with Abadi is the trial of Maliki along with his complete political system, as well as its security, military and political leaders in all of Anbar, in addition to every individual who had anything to do with Maliki’s war against Anbar. Sunnis must be granted all the rights they were demanding during the protests that took place before the military operations. … If Abadi makes the initiative showing his goodwill, the military council will also show its goodwill through its own initiative.” Political analyst Ali Ismail Dalimi who lives in Anbar province told Al-Monitor, “Sunnis do not see a solution to their crises in replacing Maliki with a new prime minister. … The Sunnis are a group of tribal sheikhs, rebels and citizens who are determined to start restructuring the political process. If the constitution is not rewritten from scratch, the Sunnis will never stop their revolution.” He said, “This is the actual reality. Thousands of orphans and widows and thousands of displaced citizens will not accept that the situation goes back to the way it was before the revolution. They will not accept a political system similar to Maliki’s system and that of wrongful methods.” Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/08/sunnis-solution-abadi-maliki-problems.html#ixzz3BH8MxhNH ===== =========================== Sat, Aug 23 18:03 PM EDT image 1 of 4 By Ahmed Rasheed and Isabel Coles BAGHDAD/ARBIL Iraq (Reuters) - Bombings across Iraq killed at least 35 people in attacks that appeared to be revenge for an assault on a Sunni mosque that has deepened sectarian conflict. A bomb also exploded in the northern city of Arbil on Saturday, a rare attack unsettling the relative stability the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region has enjoyed. Local television footage showed firefighters dousing the charred remains of a car in Arbil. A Reuters journalist earlier saw a cloud of smoke, but the source was not clear. In Baghdad, a bomber rammed a vehicle into an intelligence headquarters, killing at least eight people, police and medical sources said. Near Tikrit, a suicide bomber driving a military Humvee packed with explosives attacked a gathering of soldiers and Shi'ite militias overnight, killing nine. Shi'ite militiamen machinegunned 68 worshipers at a village mosque in Diyala Province on Friday as politicians try to form a power-sharing government capable of countering Islamic State militants. An advance by Islamic State through northern Iraq has alarmed the Baghdad government and its Western allies and drawn U.S. airstrikes in Iraq for the first time since the withdrawal of American troops in 2011. Although the air campaign has caused a few setbacks for Islamic State, they do not address the far broader problem of sectarian warfare which the group has fueled with attacks on Shi'ites. Bombings, kidnappings and execution-style shootings occur almost daily, echoing the dark days of 2006-2007, the peak of a sectarian civil war. In addition to the Arbil attack, three bombings that appeared to target Kurdish forces killed 18 people in the city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, security sources said. Islamic State routed Kurdish forces in its latest advance through the north. Two of Iraq's most influential Sunni politicians suspended participation in talks on forming a new government after the militiamen carried out the mosque attack. Deputy Prime Minister Saleh Mutlaq and Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jibouri have pulled out of talks with the main Shi'ite alliance until the results of an investigation into the killings are announced. Jibouri, a moderate Sunni, condemned both Islamic State as well as the Iranian-trained Shi'ite militias who Sunnis say kidnap and kill members of their sect with impunity. "We will not allow them to exploit disturbed security in the country to undermine the political process. We believe the political process should move on," he told a news conference on Saturday. Iraq's new Shi'ite prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, faces the task of trying to draw Sunnis into politics after they were sidelined by his predecessor Nuri al-Maliki. Maliki stepped aside after pressure from Sunnis, Kurds, some fellow Shi'ites, Iran and the United States. Iran, a regional power broker with deep influence in Iraq, is sending its foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, to Baghdad on Sunday for talks with Iraqi officials. (Additional reporting by Alexander Dziadosz; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Rosalind Russell) =========================== Suicide bomber attacks Baghdad intelligence headquarters, eight dead Sat, Aug 23 06:24 AM EDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into an intelligence headquarters in Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least eight people, police and medical sources said. The attack came a day after Shi'ite militiamen machinegunned 68 Sunni worshipers at a village mosque in Diyala Province, raising the prospect of revenge attacks as politicians try to form a government capable of countering Islamic State militants. An advance by Islamic State through northern Iraq has alarmed the Baghdad government and its Western allies and drawn airstrikes in Iraq for the first time since the withdrawal of American troops in 2011. Although the air campaign has caused a few setbacks for Islamic State, they do not address the wider problem of sectarian warfare which the group has fueled with attacks on Shi'ites. Bombings, kidnappings and execution-style shootings occur almost daily, echoing the dark days of 2006-2007, the peak of a sectarian civil war. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Toby Chopra) ==================== Islamic State executes soldiers, takes hostages at Syria base: social media Wed, Aug 27 03:51 AM EDT image 1 of 2 BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State militants have executed Syrian army soldiers and are holding a group of them hostage after capturing an air base in northeast Syria at the weekend, pictures posted on the Internet and on Twitter by supporters showed on Wednesday. Islamic State, an offshoot of al Qaeda, stormed Tabqa air base near Raqqa city on Sunday after days of fighting with the army that cost more than 500 lives, according to monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Tabqa was the army's last foothold in an area otherwise controlled by the militants, who have seized large areas of Syria and Iraq. The United States has carried out air strikes on the group in Iraq and is studying its options in Syria. In one picture posted online, a group of militants in balaclavas are seen gunning down at least seven kneeling men identified as army personnel. Reuters was not able to immediately confirm the authenticity of the images or when exactly they were taken. Other photos showed groups of eight to 10 soldiers in fatigues taken hostage, some with facial wounds. Three are identified as officers. The photos appeared to show at least two dozen hostages. One picture reportedly shows the body of a pilot who had appeared on Syrian state television before the attack on the base explaining how the army could easily defend it. Others show militants holding up knives next to groups of captured men. Syrian state television aired a report last week interviewing army personnel at the base and showing its defenses, just before Islamic State overran it. On Sunday, Syrian state television said that after fierce battles, the military was "regrouping" and that there was a "successful evacuation of the airport" as the army continued strikes on Islamic State in areas close to the base. Raqqa is a stronghold of Islamic State, and some people celebrated in the city after the capture of the air base. The Observatory said at least 346 Islamic State fighters were killed and more than 170 members of the security forces had died in five days of fighting over the base, making it one of the deadliest clashes between the two groups since the start of Syria's war. The photos posted online also showed the attack on the base, which used at least one tank. Later pictures showed bodies on the ground and abandoned military hardware, such as a jet, warplane munitions and missiles, although it was not clear if any were operational. Syria said on Monday it would cooperate in any international effort to fight Islamic State militants, but a White House spokesman said on Tuesday there was no plan to coordinate with Damascus on how to counter the threat. President Barack Obama approved U.S. surveillance flights to gather intelligence on the extremist group after the release of a graphic video last week showing the beheading of a U.S. journalist by an Islamic State fighter. (Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Hugh Lawson)