Iraq battles humanitarian woes as fighting engulfs country
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Iraq battles humanitarian woes as fighting engulfs country - Video
Iraq #39;s Kurds boycott Iraq Cabinet in wake of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki comments
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Iraq's Kurds boycott Iraq Cabinet in wake of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki comments - Video
The U.S. has different policies toward different Kurdish groups. The U.S. works closely with Iraqi Kurds, whose policemen form a line in this photo. But the U.S. labels a militant Kurdish group from Turkey, the PKK, a terrorist organization. A PKK supporter waves a yellow flag of the group's leader. Three separate Kurdish militias have been fighting the group that calls itself the Islamic State. Safin Hamed/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
The U.S. has different policies toward different Kurdish groups. The U.S. works closely with Iraqi Kurds, whose policemen form a line in this photo. But the U.S. labels a militant Kurdish group from Turkey, the PKK, a terrorist organization. A PKK supporter waves a yellow flag of the group's leader. Three separate Kurdish militias have been fighting the group that calls itself the Islamic State.
In Iraq, Kurdish militiamen fighting the group that calls itself the Islamic State are key American allies.
In Syria, some Kurdish fighters battling the very same Islamic State are considered part of a terrorist group, according to the U.S. government.
What gives?
In both Iraq and Syria, the Kurds are a long-repressed minority who are fighting back against the threat posed by the Islamic State. In the northern parts of both countries, Islamic State advances have driven large numbers of Kurds from their homes. In the latest upheaval, an Islamic State offensive has driven more than 100,000 Kurds from northern Syria into Turkey in just a matter of days.
With the U.S. military now bombing in Syria and in urgent need of allies on the ground, why does the U.S. have such a dim view of Kurdish fighters in Syria when it is counting so heavily on the Kurdish fighters in Iraq?
The U.S. also says it's going to train "moderate" Syrian rebels, a process that could take a year to generate some 5,000 fighters. Yet the U.S. has given no indication so far that it's prepared to work with the Kurdish militias in Syria that are already clashing with the Islamic State.
Well, it's the Middle East, so it's complicated. And it involves the Kurds, so it's beyond complicated.
Syrian Kurds carry their belongings after crossing from Syria into Turkey near the southeastern town of Suruc on Saturday. An estimated 130,000 Syrian Kurds have fled fighting and entered Turkey in the past few days. Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
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Why Does The U.S. Like Iraq's Kurds But Not Syria's?
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Editor's note: Luay al-Khatteeb is visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, focusing on the geopolitics and political economy of the GCC and Iraq. He is the founder and director of the Iraq Energy Institute and serves as senior adviser to the federal parliament of Iraq for energy policy and economic reform. Follow him on Twitter.
(CNN) -- Luay al-Khatteeb has spoken to CNN previously about the impact of ISIS' march through northern Iraq, and the militant group's control of some oil fields. The crisis has escalated, and CNN has revisited the conversation to find out how Iraq could crack down on ISIS' oil riches under the guidance of its new oil minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi. This is al-Khatteeb's analysis of the situation.
How much oil does ISIS control?
Luay al-Khatteeb
ISIS, in control of a large swathe of eastern Syria, is now handling 60% of the country's oil assets and producing 50,000 barrels a day. This is not full capacity -- pre-conflict, the assets would have produced around 220,000 barrels a day out of the country's 385,000, according to Iraq Energy Institute figures. However, ISIS do control key oil fields including Al Omar, Tanak and Shadadi. ISIS also handle at least 25,000 barrels of oil a day in north and mid-west Iraq, but that is only a small slice of the country's total production.
This oil has found its way to the global economy through Turkey's southern corridor. This black-economy zone is known for its oil trades, smuggling antiquities from Iraq and Syria's ancient sites, and funneling thousands of jihadists to both countries.
Many observers see Turkey turning a blind eye on a zone that is actively contributing to the instability of the Middle East. Southern Turkey has become ISIS' safe haven for treating wounded fighters, a gateway for foreign jihadists, and a financial hub that brings ISIS over $3 million a day in oil money.
What should be done to tackle the black market in oil?
Now that ISIS are involved in trucking oil out of Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan must better comply with the federal regulations and stop any trucking of oil for export not accounted for by the federal authority. There is a risk the oil would be mixed with other smuggled quantities by ISIS to Turkish black markets.
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Can Iraq crack down on ISIS' oil riches?
Islamic State fighters in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul parade through the streets shortly after capturing it in June. U.S. airstrikes have made the group wary and less visible, but the Islamic State still has control of Iraq's second-largest city. STR/AP hide caption
Islamic State fighters in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul parade through the streets shortly after capturing it in June. U.S. airstrikes have made the group wary and less visible, but the Islamic State still has control of Iraq's second-largest city.
In northern Iraq, U.S. airstrikes have been taking place for more than a month, yet the self-declared Islamic State still controls nearly a third of the country and hasn't been forced out of any major strongholds.
In the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, the pro-American authorities say they need more air power while they train to fight the Islamic State in nearby areas.
And in the northern city of Mosul, which the Islamic State captured in June, residents say the bombings have lifted morale among those who oppose the extremist group.
From the Kurdish capital of Irbil, we called to Mosul and reached Abu Wissam, a nickname used to protect his identity.
"I'm hopeful hopeful that this will be a first step to end this nightmare," Abu Wissam says of the bombings.
Abu Wissam and others we spoke to see the U.S.-led airstrikes that began this week in Syria as part of the same war against the extremists that took his city in June.
The U.S. has conducted limited strikes in northern Iraq for some six weeks now, and the French have started too. They've blunted the bold advances the Islamic State was making in the north and forced the group to leave the area around the strategic Mosul Dam. But so far, the bombings have not destroyed the group or significantly rolled it back.
An Iraqi child walks next to the empty house of a Christian family in Mosul on Aug. 8. The Arabic writing on the wall reads "Real Estate of the Islamic State." STR/EPA/Landov hide caption
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U.S. Bombs Blunt Islamic State In Iraq, But Haven't Forced Retreat