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Sunni Fighters Gain as They Battle 2 Governments, and Other Rebels
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This piece by Cambanis in the NYT shows how even Syrian Free Army soldiers have switched sides to join the ISIS extremist Sunni militia. Sheikh Hassan a Syrian Free Army brigade leader describes the case of Mustafa who switches sides for a higher salary wih ISIS. ISIS gave Mustafa triple his salary at the Free Syrian Army - increasing it to $400. In a region with many unemployed youth the ISIS pays salaries for joining, and taps Sunni frustrations in Iraq, with money raising and financing capabilities a critical part of the organization's capabilities. A piece by Nordland shows how the ISIS's crude but effective money raising uses taxes and other illicit ways to increase revenues. This provides a unique insight into what is happening in Iraq and Syria after the failure of the U.S. to effecively support the Free Syrian Army and moderate groups in Syria, the premature withdrawal from Iraq, and the frustrations of Sunnis built up under the government of prime minister Maliki openly favoring Shiites. This has provided an opening for extremist groups in the region, and created more tangles for the Obama administration as its policies to distance itself from the region have not let it extricate itself from the U.S.'s important role in the region. The vacuum created by these policies has been filled by extremist organizations and created about 2 million refugees- a large humanitarian crisis and undone years of effort by U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
The insurgency in Iraq in 2014 against the Maliki government's sectarian policies- the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria
06/10/2014
Mosul on the border with Syria is taken by the insurgents ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) who operate on the Syrian side against Assad. Mosul is Iraq's second largest city with different ethnic groups. Foreign fighters operating in Syria have joined the ISIS. Maliki had lost support in Mosul with his increasingly sectarian policies favoring Shiites and marginalizing Sunnis. The Iraqi forces lack training and are poorly organized compared to the insurgents fighting the Assad regime in Syria. The U.S. lost any chance of maintaining peace in the region with policies of the Obama administration distancing itself in Iraq, Syria and towards Iran's non-sectarian democracy movement. With moderates left in the cold in the region, sectarian influences are taking control and undoing the hard work of previous administrations. The hopes of the heavily young demographic oriented Middle East region in 2011-2012 for economic progress are now fading first into religious extremism and then into sectarian religious conflict, with Putin's government in Russia allowed by the Obama administration to pursue reckless policies in Syria against the interests of people in the region. A no fly zone or action of the kind taken in Libya at very small cost to the U.S. was not taken by U.S. president Obama. The failed reelection bid of Sarkozy in France left Britain's prime minister Cameron with no allies to pursue prudent policies in Syria that would have advanced democracy and economic development in the entire region.
Grouped Articles
Sunni Militants Drive Iraqi Army Out of Mosul
New York Times 06/10/2014
Wall Street Journal 06/11/2014
Iraqi, U.S. Forces Trade Barbs Over Failures
Wall Street Journal 06/12/2014
Mosul Falls to ISIS, Endangering Iraq’s Democracy
New York Times 06/11/2014
U.S. Said to Rebuff Iraqi Request to Strike Militants
New York Times 06/11/2014
Sunni Fighters Gain as They Battle 2 Governments, and Other Rebels
New York Times 06/11/2014
Spillover effects for Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. from the civil war in Syria- Sept-Nov. 2012 and by 2014
05/21/2011
The Syrian civil war is spilling over into Iraq. Iraq is unable to protect its airspace from being used by Iran to ship supplies to the Assad regime, or to prevent Turkey's warplanes from using Iraqi airspace to attack Kurdish separatists. There is also a danger of a Sunni-Shiite conflict being exacerabated by former Sunni insurgents in Iraq joining up with Sunni refugees from Syria. The Maliki government in Iraq is moving closer to Iran as the Syrian civil war escalates and brings Sunnis together against the Assad regime. Turkey is also seeing the effects of a flow of refugees on its border with Syria. The Obama administration has been slow to respond to the rapidly developing situation as it concentrates on a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq with the lack of agreement on a residual U.S. troop presence. This leaves the U.S. less than the minimum leverage that is needed just as the sectarian divisions are worsening, after years of investing resources in the region. With the EU countries focussed on economic problems, and the Obama administration's lack of active support for the Free Syria movement, the broader involvement of Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Russia in the region, the situation is likely to lead to an international crisis without U.S. leadership.
Grouped Articles
New York Times 04/22/2013
Clashes Carry Worries of a New Civil War
New York Times 04/28/2013
âBeyond War,â by David Rohde
New York Times 05/03/2013
Pentagon Plans for the Worst in Syria
Wall Street Journal 05/07/2013
What if the U.S. doesn’t intervene in Syria? - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/09/2013
Why did Mr. Obama overrule his advisers on Syria? - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/09/2013
A weak military in Iraq in 2014-2015, split by sectarian divisions and poorly equipped and trained- in the period following U.S. withdrawal
04/28/2014
The failure of Nouri Maliki to bring together Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds. Sunnis see the Maliki government's anti-terrorist effort as ethnic cleanising, the U.S. is wary of the Maliki government and has refrained from supplying the military, the college setup by the U.S. to train officers remains vacant after the U.S. withdrawal at Maliki's insistence. The militants ISIS organization draws from trained officers in the old Iraqi military before the invasion and Sunni militants in Syria. This threatens the ability of the government to maintain peace in the country and creates risks for Iraqi oil supplies and revenues.
Grouped Articles
Fledgling Iraqi Military Is Outmatched on Battlefield
Wall Street Journal 04/28/2014
Sunni Militants Drive Iraqi Army Out of Mosul
New York Times 06/10/2014
Iraqi, U.S. Forces Trade Barbs Over Failures
Wall Street Journal 06/12/2014
Mosul Falls to ISIS, Endangering Iraq’s Democracy
New York Times 06/11/2014
U.S. Said to Rebuff Iraqi Request to Strike Militants
New York Times 06/11/2014
Sunni Fighters Gain as They Battle 2 Governments, and Other Rebels
New York Times 06/11/2014
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
06/11/2014
Grouped Articles
Sunni Fighters Gain as They Battle 2 Governments, and Other Rebels
New York Times 06/11/2014
In Shiite Heartland of Iraq, Volunteers Get Set for a ‘Defensive Jihad’
New York Times 06/21/2014
Answering a Cleric’s Call, Iraqi Shiites Take Up Arms
New York Times 06/21/2014
Iraq Insurgents Reaping Wealth as They Advance
New York Times 06/20/2014
Iraqi Army, in New Show of Force, Drives Back Insurgents in Major City
New York Times 06/28/2014
Washington Post 07/12/2014
The other side of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Sunni extremist militia- a large money raising organization offering high salaries in a region with frustrated unemployed youth
06/11/2014
NYT indepth accounts of the ISIS and its money raising organization.
Linked Articles
Sunni Fighters Gain as They Battle 2 Governments, and Other Rebels
New York Times 06/11/2014
Iraq Insurgents Reaping Wealth as They Advance
New York Times 06/20/2014
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