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November 23-25, 2020

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2020 has seen the advent of crisis after crisis in Iraq: from the assassinations of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis and a series of clashes between US and Iran-aligned militias, to the months-long political crisis over the appointment of a new government, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Iraqs crumbling healthcare system, the collapse of oil prices and delays in paying public salaries, and rumblings from a resurgent ISIS.

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is attempting to pursue a reform agenda to pull the country back from the brink, but political wrangling over the early elections proposed for next year, ongoing popular protests revealing deeper societal grievances and escalating violence in the streets may be an indication that Iraq is heading in the wrong direction.

At the 2019 Chatham House Iraq conference, the countrys transition to a period of peace and stability was on the agenda. A year later, Iraq looks to be in an altogether more precarious place, once again facing the possibility of the outbreak of conflict.

This virtual conference, part of the Chatham House Iraq Initiative, will bring together Iraqi and international policymakers, academics and activists to discuss the critical issues for Iraq as it navigates this challenging period.

The conference will be held on the record.

Please note that the conference will take place via the Conference+ platform. For best experience, please use either Google Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge when signing in to the platform. Each session will be hosted on Zoom, with simultaneous interpretation available in Arabic and English.

Event Contact: Georgia Cooke, project manager, MENA Programme, gcooke@chathamhouse.org

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Iraq: Navigating Reform, Collapse and the Status Quo - The Media Line

Rep. Andy Biggs(Photo: David Kadlubowski/The Republic)

Rep. Andy Biggs wants President Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Iraq before the holidays.

In a letter to Trump datedWednesday,Biggs, R-Ariz., characterized the service members' exit from the countriesa "gift" for the upcomingseason.

In the letter, Biggs asks Trump to "look abroad and continue to strategically draw down our nations military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq."

Biggs cites the lack of progress in counterterrorism, nation-building efforts and the human and financial cost of the war as reasons to continue thewithdrawal of U.S. troops.

"Nation-building doesnt work, as you immediately recognized upon taking office: Afghanistan and Iraq today are clearly not beacons of democracy, stability, or prosperity, despite the thousands of American lives and trillions of dollars we have sacrificed to try to remake these countries," Biggs said in the letter.

The U.S. has spent or obligated $6.4 trillion dollars on fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan through 2020, according to Brown University. Additionally, at least 800,000 people have been killed by war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemenand Pakistan, with more than 310,000 civilians being killed since 2001.

Biggs claimed that the Taliban retain control of much of Afghanistan with no change in the situationsince 2001. Biggs said that the achievementsthe U.S. have made in Iraq were not worth the cost.

"Today, Iraqs government is shaky at best, addicted to continuing foreign assistance, and easily susceptible to pressure from outside actors, especially Iran," he wrote.

Biggsclarified that his comments in the letter were not a criticism of the service members who have served in the Middle East and other overseas engagements.

"Instead, it is an indictment of Washingtons broken foreign policy establishment, which is dominated by arm-chair idealists who never seem to grasp the messy realities on the ground," he wrote.

The U.S. first entered the war in Afghanistan 19 years ago after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In February, the U.S. entered an agreement with the Taliban that soughtto reduce the amount of violence in the war and withdraw the remaining U.S. troops by April 2021.

However, in October, Trump tweeted that service members in Afghanistan should be home by Christmas, a sentiment shared by Biggs in his letter.

"I urge you to continue to aggressively pursue these and all other related efforts in the coming weeks," Biggs said in the letter."What greater gift could we give the American people as we head into the holiday season?"

Contact the reporteratjoseignacio.castaneda@arizonarepublic.com or connect with him on Twitter @joseicastaneda.

Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2020/11/12/rep-andy-biggs-asks-trump-withdraw-troops-afghanistan-iraq/6270753002/

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Rep. Andy Biggs asks Trump to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, Iraq in time for holidays - The Arizona Republic

The PKK's terror attacks on the Kurdistan Regional Government's economic lifeline should be a wake-up call for the incoming US administration.

After the sabotage on the oil pipeline on October 28 by the PKK, the terror group conducted an attack against Kurdish security forces in northern Iraq. These incidents followed a warning by the PKK that a war might be imminent.

On the other side, the Kurdish Regional Government demands the full withdrawal of the PKK from its territories and condemned the recent attacks. Within this dynamic, it is the United States that needs to take action to protect the Kurds from terror. As the US is the main supplier and supporter of the PKK/YPG in Syria, it has to ensure that the terror group respects the rights of the Kurds.

During the last few years, the PKK has faced several setbacks in Turkey after the solution process (2013-2015). The PKK was driven out of cities, and then the countryside. In the end, the fighting was limited to the mountains in northern Iraq with little to almost zero infiltrations of the PKK into Turkey.

Especially after recent Turkish military operations this year, the PKK lost control over several areas in the region and tried to flee southwards deeper into the territories of the Kurdish Regional Government. However, this was and is being prevented by the Kurds who erected barricades to stop the movement of the PKK.

For a long time, the Kurdish Regional Government demanded that the PKK should leave Iraq and end its occupation of Kurdish villages to facilitate the return of Kurdish civilians back home. Until today, the PKK rejects these demands.

Additionally, the Kurds made an agreement with the Iraqi Central Government that the PKK will completely withdraw from the Sinjar region near the Syrian border. The PKK/YPG had established a presence in the Yazidi-populated area and prevented the return of Yazidis back home. This deal was heavily criticised by the PKK and its affiliates. Due to its geographical location, the Sinjar region worked as the main hub for the PKK from Syria into Iraq. This region enabled the terror group to transfer weapons, fighters, ammunition, and other forms of equipment into Iraq and from there into Turkey.

Out of frustration, the PKK has increased its media campaign and rhetoric against the Kurds in Iraq and has pushed forward propaganda that they were collaborating with the Turkish enemy against them.

As the desperation of the PKK grew, the terror group decided to sabotage the oil pipeline from northern Iraq to Turkey the main economic lifeline for the Kurds. The damage caused by the terror attack caused the Kurds a loss of $86 million.

Seeing the KRG's commitment to its policy to blockade the movement of the PKK, the latter has resorted to a direct attack against the Kurdish Peshmerga. The Kurdish Peshmerga were trained and equipped by the international coalition to fight Daesh and have sacrificed hundreds of its men to that cause.

After these incidents, Kurdish political parties came together to discuss a joint approach to deal with the growing threat from the PKK. Many countries, including the US, and France have condemned the terror attack against the Kurds.

While the PKK is on a losing track in Turkey and Iraq, its only lifeline remains its presence in Syria under the pretext of the PKK/YPG or the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces backed by the United States. The terror group does use Syria as a staging ground, training, and recruitment area as well as a logistics supply route into Turkey and Iraq.

The aid delivered by the US to the PKK/YPG-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces and the income from taxes and oil revenues in Syria is partially used to organise terror activities in Iraq and Turkey.

The US has to re-evaluate its policy on the PKK/YPG in Syria and prevent its local partners from attacking the Kurds. After the massive sacrifices of the Kurdish people against the terror by Daesh, the US has to protect the Kurds from the terror of the PKK.

To achieve this goal, the US needs to come up with an urgent response. First of all, the US has to articulate clearly with its partners that any attack on the Kurds will be met with grave consequences.

The US has to restrain its aid to demonstrate that attacks against the economic lifeline of the Kurds wont be left unpunished. The US also has to help the Iraqi government end the presence of the PKK in Sinjar and cut the land route of the PKK from Syria into Iraq.

The new US administration and especially CENTCOM officials who dictate the US policy in Syria should rethink their strategy. How can the US protect the Kurds from further attacks by the terror group? How did it happen that the US partnered with a terror group that targets the Turks and the Kurds alike? How can this catastrophic policy be reversed?

Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of TRT World.

We welcome all pitches and submissions to TRT World Opinion please send them via email, to opinion.editorial@trtworld.com

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The US has to stop its PKK ally from attacking Kurds in Iraq - TRT World

Iraqs prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, has warned that he is being forced into an impossible balancing act between the US and Iran, as he urged Europe to come to the aid of his countrys debt-ridden economy.

Appointed as prime minister in June, Kadhimi a British citizen and former journalist came to power after unprecedented street protests over corruption, and has since governed with a simple programme of early elections, better security and preventing the collapse of his oil-dependent economy.

Since taking office he has slowly been making changes to personnel in some security and economic institutions.

In a press briefing after meeting the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, he vowed that elections in Iraq would go ahead on 6 June, promising that the election date is indisputable and we are committed to it.

Kadhimi has been accused by some of moving too cautiously, but he told reporters that patience was better than being dragged into bloody chaos and civil war. 1,000 years of discussion is better than one moment of exchange of fire.

Kadhimi is trying to walk a middle ground between the US and Iran, the two countries jostling for influence inside Iraq. He said: I am on a rope between two tall buildings. I am not required to walk on the rope, but to ride a bike on the rope. I dance on a daily basis with the snakes but I am looking for a flute to control the snakes.

Fears that Iraq would become the scene of a military confrontation between the US and Iran ahead of the US presidential election grew when Washington, slowly reduced its 5,000 troops in Iraq, threatening last month to shut its embassy unless the Iraqi government reined in Iran-aligned militias.

But the militias promised to hold a ceasefire if a timetable emerges for the US troop withdrawal.

Kadhimi said after the US elections he would face delicate negotiations over further withdrawals of US troops and the terms on which they would be redeployed. Everyone is seeking an opportunity for dialogue, he said. We are seeking an opportunity to go beyond this sensitive issue and its implications, whoever is in the White House. But he added the Islamic State still represented a daily threat to Iraq.

At the same time he vowed to bring the Iran-backed militia under control telling reporters any weapon outside the control of the state will not be allowed.

On Saturday the central Baghdad offices of the Kurdistan Democratic party were burnt down by loyalists of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). At least eight citizens in the Salahuddin province were also just shot allegedly by a pro-Iran militia.

It remains to be seen if his security forces can bring militia such as Asaib Ahl Al-Haq and under control, or whether the transfer to state control will be nominal.

He insisted it was lack of jobs, poor health services and corruption that drove these young people to militancy, adding other countries such as Colombia had found a path to demobilise militant groups.

Since coming to power, Kadhimi has published a white paper on dramatic economic reforms that would see a public sector payroll cut from 25% to 12.5% of GDP. He added the countrys political class had grown lazy through its reliance on oil.

In a tour of France, Germany and the UK, he touted the white paper as a signal to overseas investors that he has a serious three- to five-year plan to wean the country off its excessive dependence on oil for state revenues.

Kadhimi is expected to stand in the elections that he hopes could produce a majority for his reform package.

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Iraq's prime minister says country on tightrope between US and Iran - The Guardian

The Treasury Department on Thursday announced that it was sanctioning Irans ambassador to Iraq for his role in carrying out the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Forces (IRGC-QF) destabilizing foreign agenda in Iraq, according to a press release from the department.

The Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets and Control said in the statement that Iraj Masjedi, a general in the Revolutionary Guard, has directed or supported groups that are responsible for attacks that have killed and wounded U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq.

The Iranian regime threatens Iraqs security and sovereignty by appointing IRGC-QF officials as ambassadors in the region to carry out their destabilizing foreign agenda, Treasury Secretary Steven MnuchinSteven Terner MnuchinOn The Money: Pelosi cites progress, but says COVID-19 relief deal might be post-election | Eviction crisis sparked by pandemic disproportionately hits minorities | Weekly jobless claims fall to 787K Treasury sanctions Iran's ambassador to Iraq Bipartisan group of senators call on Trump to sanction Russia over Navalny poisoning MORE said in the press release.

The United States will continue to employ the tools and authorities at its disposal to target the Iranian regime and IRGC-QF officials that attempt to meddle in the affairs of sovereign nations, including any attempts to influence U.S. elections, Mnuchin added, referring to a Wednesday night announcement from Director of National IntelligenceJohn RatcliffeJohn Lee RatcliffeBiden: Countries that interfere in U.S. elections will 'pay a price' Biden swipes at Trump ally Giuliani at debate: He's 'being used as a Russian pawn' Mistakes made by Iranian hackers tied them to threatening emails targeting US voters: report MORE that Russia and Iran are behind efforts to sway public opinions related to the 2020 presidential election.

Secretary of State Mike PompeoMichael (Mike) Richard PompeoTreasury sanctions Iran's ambassador to Iraq Bipartisan group of senators call on Trump to sanction Russia over Navalny poisoning House lawmakers call for continued assistance to Lebanon MORE supported the sanction in a statement, saying, for many years, the Iranian regime and its primary tool of regional destabilization, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), have exploited Iraq to advance their own interests at the expense of the Iraqi people.

The designation came as the department also sanctioned two leaders of Hezbollah, the U.S.-designated terrorist organization backed by Iran that operates both a political party and military wing in Lebanon.

Mnuchin argued in a statement that Hezbollah Central Council members Nabil Qaouk and Hassan al-Baghdadi are responsible for creating and implementing the terrorist organizations destabilizing and violent agenda against U.S. interests and those of our partners around the world.

Treasuryargued in its press release that Hezbollah leaders have frequently supported the use of military action against Israel.

These actions come amid recent U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon to end their decades-long dispute over their maritime border in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Trump administration has repeatedly rebuked Iran and the groups it supports as President TrumpDonald John TrumpMore than 300 military family members endorse Biden Five takeaways from the final Trump-Biden debate Biden: 'I would transition from the oil industry' MORE hopes to reduce the conflicts between Israel and surrounding Arab nations.

U.S.-Iran tensions have run particularly high throughout the Trump presidency, especially after the president withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

At the beginning of the year, the two countries appeared to be on the brink of war after Trump ordered a drone strike in Iraq that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

Iran retaliated with a missile strike on an Iraqi military base housing U.S. troops. More than 100 military personnel suffered brain injuries, but there were no deaths.

The Trump administration, however, continues to accuse Iran-backed militias of targeting U.S. interests and personnel in Iraq.

Trump has attempted to reimpose all United Nations sanctions that were lifted under the Iran nuclear deal, though the international community has largely rejected the U.S. authority to do so, given Trumps withdrawal from the agreement.

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Treasury sanctions Iran's ambassador to Iraq | TheHill - The Hill