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Iraq Crisis: Effort to Aid Kurdish Forces Puts Iran, U.S. on Same Side
Keywords:
Nour Malas and Joe Parkinson report from the town of Makhmour, retaken by Kurdish Peshmerga forces following airstrikes on ISIS militant positions. The crisis situation 20 miles from Erbil, capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region and the coordination between Iranian advisors, U.S. military advisors, and the Peshmerga to push back the ISIS. Peshmerga say young Sunnis in the town joined the ISIS in droves, something never seen before. It also reveals the situation after the failure of the Maliki administration to build a state with support from all parts of the Iraqi population- Shiite, Sunni, Kurds and tribes- leading to the radical alienation of Sunnis. The late awakening of Iran, the U.S., and moderate Iraqis both Sunni and Shiite, to the dangers of the Maliki policies. The unraveling of the decade of Iraq rebuilding by the U.S. in such rapid manner leads to the stepping down of Maliki and beginning of a new non-sectarian approach and policies. The vacillating in the Obama adminstration's policies towards Syria and Iraq leads to a lack of direction in the region.
Iraq's Kurdistan region and the invasion by ISIS in August 2014, the Kurdish U.S. backed response in 2015
08/14/2014
Iran and the U.S. aid the Peshmerga forces to push the ISIS Islamic state militants out of Kurdistan. Maliki steps down as prime minister and a new prime minister who would appeal to both Shia and Sunnis takes over. The failure of Maliki to bring national reconciliation and build a strong national military comprised of Shia and Sunni with the help of the U.S. leads to the collapse of Mosul. The situation with a badly trained and poorly organized Iraqi military and poorly equiped Peshmerga leads to the general collapse as Sunni ISIS militants in Syria push into Iraq in 2014. U.S. airstrikes help prevent the fall of Erbil, capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region. France moves to aid Kurdistan as the EU fails to come up with a response. By 2015 the situation changed, with U.S. led airstrikes the Kurds had taken Sinjar from ISIS. an agreement.
Grouped Articles
Iraq Crisis: Effort to Aid Kurdish Forces Puts Iran, U.S. on Same Side
Wall Street Journal 08/14/2014
With Maliki Out of the Picture, U.S. Prepares to Boost Iraq Aid
Wall Street Journal 08/16/2014
How to Save Iraq and Honor American Sacrifice
Wall Street Journal 08/15/2014
U.S. Widens Air Campaign in Northern Iraq
Wall Street Journal 08/18/2014
Islamic State Fills Coffers From Illicit Economy in Syria, Iraq
Wall Street Journal 08/28/2014
How Kurds Came to Play Key Role in U.S. Plans to Combat Islamic State
Wall Street Journal 09/09/2014
Efforts to establish an autonomous Kurdish region in Syria, Iraq's Kurdish Autonomous region, and Turkey
05/21/2011
The developments in Kurdish parts of Syria as the Kurds in Iraq and Syria work to promote a similiar autonomous region for Kurds in Syria, based on the model set by the Autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq headquartered in Erbil.
Grouped Articles
Arabs Ask U.S. to Lead on Syria
Wall Street Journal 05/09/2013
Turkey's Spymaster Plots Own Course on Syria
Wall Street Journal 10/10/2013
In Southern Turkey, Renewed Fears of Sectarian Strife
Wall Street Journal 11/07/2013
In Iraq, growing gap sets Kurdistan apart - The Washington Post
Washington Post 03/10/2012
Kurdish Oil Gambit Hits Troubled Waters
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2014
Iraq Crisis: Effort to Aid Kurdish Forces Puts Iran, U.S. on Same Side
Wall Street Journal 08/14/2014
Iraqi opinion on the way forward in 2015 after the Maliki government's sectarian divisions
08/10/2014
Grouped Articles
New York Times 08/10/2014
Nominee to Replace Maliki as Iraqi Premier Is Seen as Less Divisive
Wall Street Journal 08/12/2014
Iraq Crisis: Effort to Aid Kurdish Forces Puts Iran, U.S. on Same Side
Wall Street Journal 08/14/2014
Iraq Crisis: Nouri al-Maliki Quits
Wall Street Journal 08/15/2014
With Maliki Out of the Picture, U.S. Prepares to Boost Iraq Aid
Wall Street Journal 08/16/2014
How to Save Iraq and Honor American Sacrifice
Wall Street Journal 08/15/2014
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
Nordland and Rubin's indepth NYT account of the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq, as a Sunni organization based on money raising capabilities
06/20/2014
The ISIS raises money through various activities including taxes it imposes and collects in territories under its control. This extends to taxes on Christians in Mosul. Other activities include smuggling and money raised from taking oil refineries in Iraq and Syria. Some of the oil in Syria is sold to the Assad regime. Money is also raised from bank vaults such as in Mosul. It also has wealthy backers in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf kingdoms as a result of the Sunni-Shiite conflict.
Grouped Articles
Iraq Insurgents Reaping Wealth as They Advance
New York Times 06/20/2014
Washington Post 07/12/2014
Iraq Crisis: Effort to Aid Kurdish Forces Puts Iran, U.S. on Same Side
Wall Street Journal 08/14/2014
Want to Defeat ISIS? Help the Syrian Opposition
Wall Street Journal 08/14/2014
U.S. Widens Air Campaign in Northern Iraq
Wall Street Journal 08/18/2014
Assad Policies Aided Rise of Islamic State Militant Group
Wall Street Journal 08/22/2014
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
Iran's relations with Iraq and prime minister Maliki in 2014 with increased sectarian conflict in Iraq
06/12/2014
Grouped Articles
As Sunni Militants Threaten Its Allies in Baghdad, Iran Weighs Options
New York Times 06/12/2014
Collapse of Iraqi army a failure for nation’s premier and for U.S. military - The Washington Post
Washington Post 06/13/2014
Iraqi Shiite Cleric Issues Call to Arms
New York Times 06/13/2014
Iraqi Leader Maliki Loses Backing of Shiite Figure and Iran for New Term
Wall Street Journal 07/23/2014
Iraq Picks New President to Confront Militant Threat
New York Times 07/24/2014
Iraq Crisis: Effort to Aid Kurdish Forces Puts Iran, U.S. on Same Side
Wall Street Journal 08/14/2014
Reconciliation and new coalitions among the religious factions in Iraq ahead of elections.
01/29/2009
Something amazing but more due to the fact that the public is growing tired of religious faction based politics, is the reaching across faction lines to form new coalitions starting with Mr. Maliki the prime minister. Even former insurgents are joining with groups they previously opposed. Iraq and efforts for sectarian unity as American withdrawal approaches.
Grouped Articles
Iraq's Vote Looks Set to Deepen, Not Heal, Rifts
Wall Street Journal 04/19/2013
Sectarian Attacks Return With a Roar to Iraq, Rattling a Capital Already on Edge
New York Times 08/17/2013
Senators warn Obama that Maliki may be leading Iraq back toward civil war - The Washington Post
Washington Post 10/30/2013
The Iraqi Prime Ministerâs Plea to Americans
New York Times 10/29/2013
In Climate of Growing Fear, Iraqis Flee to Safer Ground
Wall Street Journal 01/02/2014
We Iraqis Need Equality, Not Apaches
Wall Street Journal 01/14/2014
Shiite defense of Baghdad and southern Iraq from Sunni insurgents and the ISIS in Syria- 2014
06/20/2014
Grouped Articles
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
Washington Post 07/12/2014
U.S. Sees Risks in Assisting a Compromised Iraqi Force
New York Times 07/13/2014
Iraq Crisis: Effort to Aid Kurdish Forces Puts Iran, U.S. on Same Side
Wall Street Journal 08/14/2014
The Obama administration's decision to ask Congress for $500 million in June 2014 to aid moderate forces in Syria including the Free Syria Army
06/27/2014
The decision follows gains by the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS) extremist Sunni militants over large areas in Sunni parts of Iraq. Sunnis alienated by the Maliki government's policies favoring Shiites have supported Sunni militants. The move comes late in the conflict after the Sunnis are left to fend for themselves in Syria and Iraq, and continues a policy of no active engagement of U.S. airpower in the region- increases aid that is already being sent, and serves the purpose of checking the gains of the ISIS, making no significant change to the situation in the region of a refugee crisis and expanded conflict. The move may be intended also to show a balance of support to Sunni and Shia, as the Obama administration is supporting the Maliki government against ISIS. The same support of moderates with a "no fly zone" could have kept U.S. combat forces out of the region and achieved what was achieved in Libya of freeing the region of the Assad regime, not emboldening Russia's Putin, stood up for America's support for democracy and freedom and condemnation of the use of chemical weapons, been consistent with American public opinion's desire for no large interventions overseas, continued focus on the domestic economy, and not compromised severely the hard won gains of America's military and servicemen in the last decade. So weak has been the Republican response and so partisan the politics, that few Democrats voices have been heard to questions the policies, so that a muddled policy based on the president's inclinations has been allowed to look sensible. It has made the U.S. look weak in Europe and Asia, as Russia and China have been emboldened in each region. Democrats have only to look to Truman in 1947-1950 when Berlin, Greece, South Korea, were not left to fall into chaos with millions of refugees and Russian Communist influence, to see the difference with the current policies, without a knee jerk reaction to the Bush era.
Grouped Articles
Obama's Foreign-Policy Failures Go Far Beyond Iraq
Wall Street Journal 06/27/2014
Syria Is Breeding Western Terrorists, U.S. Warns
Wall Street Journal 07/09/2014
Washington Post 07/12/2014
U.S. Sees Risks in Assisting a Compromised Iraqi Force
New York Times 07/13/2014
U.S. Approves More Hellfire Missiles for Iraq
Wall Street Journal 07/30/2014
Leaving U.S. Allies Adrift as Chaos Rises
Wall Street Journal 08/01/2014
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