News Analysis: U.S. Strategy in Iraq Increasingly Relies on Iran - NYT: WASHINGTON — At a time when President Obama is under political pressure from congressional Republicans over negotiations to rein in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, a startling paradox has emerged: Mr. Obama is becoming increasingly dependent on Iranian fighters as he tries to contain the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria without committing American ground troops.
- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
WASHINGTON — At a time when President Obama is under political pressure from congressional Republicans over negotiations to rein in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, a startling paradox has emerged: Mr. Obama is becoming increasingly dependent on Iranian fighters as he tries to contain the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria without committing American ground troops.
WASHINGTON — At a time when President Obama is under political pressure from congressional Republicans over negotiations to rein in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, a startling paradox has emerged: Mr. Obama is becoming increasingly dependent on Iranian fighters as he tries to contain the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria without committing American ground troops.
In the four days since Iranian troops joined 30,000 Iraqi forces to try to wrest Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit back from Islamic State control, American officials have said the United States is not coordinating with Iran, one of its fiercest global foes, in the fight against a common enemy.
That may be technically true. But American war planners have been closely monitoring Iran’s parallel war against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, through a range of channels, including conversations on radio frequencies that each side knows the other is monitoring. And the two militaries frequently seek to avoid conflict in their activities by using Iraqi command centers as an intermediary.
As a result, many national security experts say, Iran’s involvement is helping the Iraqis hold the line against Islamic State advances until American military advisers are finished training Iraq’s underperforming armed forces.
“The only way in which the Obama administration can credibly stick with its strategy is by implicitly assuming that the Iranians will carry most of the weight and win the battles on the ground,” said Vali R. Nasr, a former special adviser to Mr. Obama who is now dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. “You can’t have your cake and eat it too — the U.S. strategy in Iraq has been successful so far largely because of Iran.”
It was Iran that organized Iraq’s Shiite militias last August to break a weeklong Islamic State siege of Amerli, a cluster of farming villages whose Shiite residents faced possible slaughter. American bombs provided support from warplanes.
Administration officials were careful to note at the time that the United States was working in Amerli with its allies — namely Iraqi Army units and Kurdish security forces. A senior administration official said that “any coordinating with the Shiite militias was not done by us; it would have been done by the I.S.F.,” a reference to the Iraqi security forces.
It was also Iran’s Quds Force that backed Iraq’s Shiite militias and Iraqi security forces in November to liberate the central city of Baiji from the Islamic State, breaking the siege of a nearby oil refinery. (A month later, the Islamic State took back a part of the city.)
And last summer, when Islamic State militants first captured Mosul and got within striking distance of the Kurdish capital, Erbil, the head of Iran’s Quds Force, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, flew to Erbil with two planes full of military supplies, American and regional diplomats said. The Iranian move helped to bolster Kurdish defenses around Erbil, the officials said.
In Tikrit this week, Iranian-backed Shiite militia leaders said that their fighters made up more than two-thirds of the pro-government force of 30,000. They also said that General Suleimani, the Iranian spymaster, was helping to lead from near the front line.
Websites supporting the militias circulated photographs of General Suleimani on Wednesday drinking tea on what was said to be the front line, dressed in black and holding his glass in one hand and a floral patterned saucer in the other.
The presence of General Suleimani — a reviled figure in American security and military circles because he once directed a deadly campaign against American forces in Iraq — makes it difficult for the United States to conduct airstrikes to assist in the Tikrit operation, as it might like, foreign policy experts said.
“There’s just no way that the U.S. military can actively support an offensive led by Suleimani,” said Christopher Harmer, a former aviator in the United States Navy in the Persian Gulf who is now an analyst with the Institute for the Study of War. “He’s a more stately version of Osama bin Laden.”
But the United States strategy in Iraq can benefit from Iran’s effort to take back Tikrit from the Islamic State, even if it is not involved directly. Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the involvement of Iranian-backed Shiites in Tikrit could be “a positive thing” provided it did not exacerbate sectarian tension.
“This is the most overt conduct of Iranian support, in the form of artillery and other things,” General Dempsey said. “Frankly, it will only be a problem if it results in sectarianism.”
But that is a big worry. In the past — notably just after the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq in 2011 — Shiite militias have been accused of atrocities against Sunnis. And in January, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered an investigation into accusations that Shiite militiamen massacred 70 people in Diyala Province after pro-government forces expelled Islamic State militants.
Beyond that, the closer the United States appears to get to Iran, the more fretful Sunni Arab allies become. On Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry sought to reassure Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states that nuclear negotiations would not lead the Obama administration to let down its guard against Iranian influence in the region. But Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, used the opportunity to complain about the Tikrit operation, saying Iran’s role there was an indication of what he called Tehran’s “hegemonic” tendencies.
This week, Republican lawmakers warned that Iran’s influence in Iraq would increase with the Tikrit offensive. “We share the president’s goal to degrade and defeat ISIL,” Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said in a statement Tuesday. “But success in this mission will not be achieved by capitulating to Iran’s ambitions for regional hegemony.”
Landon Shroder, an intelligence analyst for corporations in Iraq who was in Baghdad last summer when Mosul fell, countered that the worry that Iran will gain influence in Iraq ignores the reality that Iran’s Shiite government is already a key Iraqi ally.
“By this stage, everybody who observed what happened in Iraq with the Islamic State should know that the main influencer in Iraq is Iran,” he said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “That’s an unpopular perception in the United States, after spending so much money and lives lost in the conflict, but it’s reality.”
Mr. Shroder said that at the moment, the only force with the ability to bring Kurdish troops, the Iraqi Army and the Shiite militias together to fight the Islamic State is Iran.
Rafid Jaboori, the spokesman for Mr. Abadi, the Iraqi prime minister, said in an interview Wednesday that Iraq had urged the United States and Iran not to play out their bilateral conflict in Iraq’s battle against the Islamic State.
“So far in general there was no clash within the two,” Mr. Jaboori said.
He drew a comparison to World War II. “Countries with different ideologies, different priorities, different systems of government, cooperated to defeat the Nazis,” he said. “It’s foreseeable that we see countries which might not get along very well in terms of their bilateral relations working to help Iraq to defeat this threat.”
Read the whole story
· · · · ·
A Shiite cleric gave an eve-of-battle speech to Iraqi soldiers and Shiite fighters before an attack on Islamic State forces in Tikrit on Monday.
 ABC News |
Strange Circumstances Surround Gold Heist on Interstate 95
ABC News Details emerging from the theft of nearly $5 million in gold bars on an interstate highway indicate the heist was carefully planned and raise questions about who was involved other than the three armed robbers. The robbers pulled up almost immediately after ... Truck crew says carsickness led to $4.8M heist of gold barsMartins Ferry Times Leader all 278 news articles » |
 euronews |
Chinese official at Iran nuclear talks sees hope of a deal
Daily Mail MONTREUX, Switzerland, March 5 (Reuters) - China's representative at talks on Iran's nuclear programme said on Thursday he saw hope that a deal would be done, a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said "significant gaps" remained to be ... Iran Foreign Minister: We Believe We Are 'Very Close' to Nuke DealNBCNews.com all 268 news articles » |
A Kremlin official has indicated that Russia is concerned about links between militants in the North Caucasus and the Islamic State (IS) group, according to an interview published in a Russian daily.
Footage shot from a dashcam obtained by Russian journalist Tonia Samsonova which purports to show the scene of Boris Nemtsov's murder in Moscow last Friday. The video is said to have been shot from a vehicle travelling along Bolshoi Moskovoretsky bridge, near the Kremlin, where Nemtsov was killed. The driver passes a stationary white car and a lorry, thought to be the murder scene, and then what appears to be several figures on the bridge. The footage is believed to have been shot three minutes after Nemtsov's murder. Samsonova has handed it to the Russian Investigative Committee, which is investigating the murder Continue reading...
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 2
 |
The US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was left bleeding heavily after being slashed in the face by an attacker during an event in Seoul. Report by Hettie Maylam.
|
From: ODN
Views:
301
ratings  |
| Time: 01:31 | More in News & Politics |
 The Guardian |
North Korea: US ambassador knife attack was 'expression of resistance'
The Guardian Mark Lippert after the attack by a political extremist. North Korea's official news agency referred to the weapon used as the 'knife of justice'. Justin McCurry in Tokyo. Thursday 5 March 2015 06.50 EST Last modified on Thursday 5 March 2015 09.34 EST. US ambassador slashed in South KoreaUSA TODAY all 1,390 news articles » |
Television Programmes: 'SPOOKS' Jo Portman (MIRANDA RAISON). BBC ONE: Monday 9th October 2006 Rupert Penry-Jones and Peter Firth return to The Grid to manage the MI5 team, played by Raza Jaffrey, Nicola Walker and Miranda Raison. They are joined by MI6 officer Ros Myers, played by Hermione Norris, and Lennie James, Robert Glenister, Lindsay Duncan and Simon Woods make guest appearances during the series. WARNING: Use of this image is subject to Terms of Use of Digital Picture Service. In particular, this image may only be used during the publicity period for the purpose of publicising 'Spooks' and provided the BBC is credited. Any use of this image on the internet or for any other purpose whatsoever, including advertising and other commercial uses, requires the prior written approval of the BBC.
Russia's Defense Ministry says it has seen an increase of activity by "Islamic State (IS) units" in countries belonging to the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
Ukraine's Kuchma Says West Too Soft On Russia Over Debaltseve by noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL)
Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has criticized the Western response to "crude violations" of a cease-fire by Russian-backed rebels who ignored the truce deal to seize the strategic town of Debaltseve in a major offensive.
The photographs released by ISIS in its stronghold of Raqqa are dated March 2015. The first ones show a large crowd, mostly men, but also among them a handful of women and children, all looking up.
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 3
Iran Foreign Minister: We Believe We Are 'Very Close' to Nuke Deal
NBCNews.com GENEVA — Iran has no intention of building a nuclear weapon, and the sooner the world recognizes that, the sooner there will be a deal aimed at curbing its nuclear capabilities in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions, Foreign Minister ... and more » |
Afghan officials say Russian-speaking Central Asians were among dozens of militants killed in southern Afghanistan on March 4.
 |
The trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev got underway on Wednesday, with his defense team admitting he was one of the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing, but arguing he was led astray by his...
|
From: AFP news agency
Views: 0
0 ratings
|
| Time: 01:22 | More in News & Politics |
The Ukrainian parliament has voted in favor of a bill to boost the size of the military by one-third, to 250,000 soldiers.
Large-scale military exercises likely to irk neighbouring countries
A court in Moscow has convicted a Russian police officer from Siberia on charges of spying for the United States and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 4
 The Independent |
Ben Carson: Potential presidential candidate issues apology after saying ...
The Independent The Independent's US Digital Editor, based in New York. Previously in Delhi and Washington DC. More articles from this journalist. New York. Thursday 05 March 2015. Print. Your friend's email address. Your email address. Note: We do not store your email ... and more » |
US tech companies feel shut out by China and Europe
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, in Moscow on Thursday for talks with President Vladimir Putin, laid flowers on the bridge where Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was murdered last week.
Obama Threatens War on Israel if it Attacks Iranby The European Union Times
US President Barack Obama threatened to take military action against Israel not to let Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strike Iran.
Netanyahu was planning airstrikes at an emergency meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Chief of Staff of the Israeli army Benny Gantz, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarîda said.
The meeting was held after it became known that Barack Obama’s administration and the clergy of Iran had concluded a secret agreement.
Israel even conducted test flights of its fighter jets in the airspace of Iran after it became possible to overcome the radar protection. However, US Secretary of State John Kerry disclosed Netanyahu’s plans. Afterwards, Obama threatened to shoot down Israeli planes on their way to Iran. As a result, the Israeli Prime Minister had to curtail the operation. The relationship between Israel and the United States have been worsening since then.
Benjamin Netanyahu has recently expressed opposition to Obama’s intention to sign the agreement with Iran on its nuclear program. The Israeli politician promised to make every effort not to let the parties sign the document. The White House accused Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu of having a destructive approach to the relations between the United States and Israel.
- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
Comments
Post a Comment