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Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud (R) talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, June 19, 2017.(photo byBandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS)

Author:Ali Mamouri Posted August 18, 2017

Picturesdisplaying Iran's Quds Force commander Gen.Qasem Soleimaniduring the battles with the Islamic Statestopped circulatingonline withthe military phase thatended inthe liberation of Mosul. The Iranian presence and support for the Iraqi forces were absent in the liberation battles.

TranslatorPascale Menassa

Simultaneously, Iraqi officials visited Saudi Arabia and Arab Sunni states that cheer for the Saudi axis. Sadrist leader Muqtada al-Sadr visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Aug. 13-15, with clerics and politicians welcoming him as an Iraqi leader. Prominent Sunni Iraqi cleric Ahmed al-Kubaisi and leading politiciansmet withSadr during his visit to the UAE. This wasonly a few days after hisvisit at the end of Julyto Saudi Arabia, where Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other officials had welcomed him.

In the wake of the visit, Saudi Arabiatook various measures in favor of Iraq, such asannouncing the opening of a Saudi Consulate in Najaf, where Sadr lives. Iraqs most seniorShiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, did not object to this proposition, asin the past he had called for openness in relations.

For its part, Iran strongly criticized Sadrs visit to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Tasnim website, which is close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, considered the visit a betrayal of the Yemeni people who have been fighting the Saudis for more than a year. Tasnim also accused Saudi Arabia of taking advantage of the Sadrist movement and seeking influence gateways in Iraq.

Sadrs upcoming visit to Egypt was also announced, in addition to a series of visits by prominent Iraqi officials includingthe prime minister andtheministers of interior,foreign affairs,oiland transportation to Saudi Arabia.Iran, Saudi Arabias regional enemy, did not receive such high-level visits.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has been increasingly criticizing the pro-Iran military factions and accused them of violating the law and refusing to obey the Iraqi state. The authorities affiliated with Iran have a bad reputation for being implicated in corruption issues and loss of national public interest in Iraq, especially following the second term of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki who has good relations with the Iranian regime and Iran'ssupreme leader.Adding insult to injury was the departure to Iran of Basra's Gov.Majid al-Nasrawi, after the transparency committee accused him of several corruption offences. This gavethe impression that Iran is sheltering those involved incorruption.

Iran is trying to control the situation and preserve its gains in Iraq through its deputies and through bilateral agreements serving its national interests. Iran signed a security agreement with Iraqi Minister of Defense Arfan al-Hayali during his visit July 23. The agreement seemed to have beensigned in a rush, which is uncommon in diplomacy; there were no preliminary talks between experts of both countries, thus indicating Irans urgency in cementing its military and security role in Iraq as a reaction to the Iraqi rapprochement with the Arab Sunni axis.

The official Iranian agency, IRNA, reported thatduring his meeting with Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, Hayali said, The Iraqi army will fight and will neither allow strife anew nor illegal measures to divide Iraq.

As a result, relations between Iraqi Kurdistan and Baghdad tensed up because it was understood that Hayali was threateningthe Kurdish region withmilitary actionin case of a secession referendum.

Hayali deniedthe statements and blamed IRNA offalse reporting.

Saudi Arabia is also trying to offer Iraq aid to outdoIran and win Iraq over pragmatically, regardless of the sectarian disputes.

On Aug. 15, Iraqi Minister of Oil Jabbar al-Luaibi announcedin the wake of his return from Saudi Arabia, The deputy of the Saudi king emphasized the importance of expediting the activation of the Saudi-Iraqi coordination committee to implement agreements in the fields of oil, energy, industry, minerals, technology, investment, agriculture, trade exchange, banks and joint projects.

The Saudi Cabinetannounced Aug. 14 the formation of the coordinationcommittee to implement what was agreed upon during the visits of Iraqi officials in the past weeks.

Luaibi said, Saudi Arabia will put in place several health care and humanitarian projects at its own expense. The kingdom will build a hospital in Baghdad and Basra and will allocate fellowships [for Iraqi students] toSaudi universities. It will also open border crossings and establish free trade areas.

If Saudi Arabia succeeds in implementing its economic projects in Iraq, it will tip the balance of power in its favor, as opposed to Iran that has failed since 2003 to execute huge economic projects in Iraq, whether directly or through the Shiite parties supporting it.

The new Saudi strategy shows soft and positive power in its competition with Iran in Iraq, as opposed to its previous tacticsof isolating Iraq politically and denying the new political reality post-2003. Saudi Arabias past policieshave benefitted Iran to a large extent and allowed the latter to spread its influence on all levels in Iraq.

Read More: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/08/iran-iraq-saudi-arab-sunni-shiite.html

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Saudi Arabia engages Iraq at Iran's dismay - Al-Monitor

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Preparations under way to reopen Iraq border crossing Jordan Times Iraq's Interior Minister Qasem Aaraji visited the crossing border from the Iraqi side on Sunday to check on preparations to reopen the crossing and resume the flow of commodities and personnel between the two countries, Safia Al Souhail, Iraq's ... Iraq, Saudi Arabia to reopen border crossings after 27 yearsAl-Monitor all 5 news articles »

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Preparations under way to reopen Iraq border crossing - Jordan Times

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Arlington soldier who died in Iraq was a hero | Fort Worth Star ... Fort Worth Star Telegram Sgt. Allen Stigler Jr. gave his life fighting the Islamic State in Iraq. We honor his sacrifice. Pentagon identifies two U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq - UPI.comUPI.com all 6 news articles »

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Arlington soldier who died in Iraq was a hero | Fort Worth Star ... - Fort Worth Star Telegram

The Defence Secretary has apologised to families of soldiers killed in Iraq while travelling in lightly-armoured Snatch Land Rovers , it emerged today.

Sir Michael Fallon wrote to victims relatives apologising for delays in bringing in vehicles with better protection which, he admitted, could have saved lives.

At least 37 British troops died in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan while travelling in the Land Rovers. They included driver Private Phillip Hewett, of the Staffs Regiment, who was killed in 2005, in Iraq.

The Chilcot report published last year was heavily critical of delays in replacing the vehicles.

In his letter to the families, Sir Michael wrote: I am fully aware of the struggle you have had to bring this matter to court over the last decade and I recognise this has had a significant impact on you and your family.

The Government entirely accepts the findings of Sir John Chilcot in the Iraq Inquiry in relation to Snatch Land Rovers.

I would like to express directly to you my deepest sympathies and apologise for the delay, resulting from the decisions taken at the time in bringing into service alternative protected vehicles which could have saved lives. I confirm that we have learnt lessons from this.

But a leading lawyer for families of soldiers killed in Snatch Land Rovers warned there was a real risk troops will become less safe under plans to overhaul the Armed Forces compensation scheme.

Jocelyn Cockburn said similar cases would not be brought in the future if the proposals go through, removing the Ministry of Defence from scrutiny in the courts.

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Defence Secretary apologises for Iraq Land Rovers that failed to protect soldiers from bombs - Mirror.co.uk

By Amanda Lee Myers, The Associated Press

MIDWAY CITY, Calif. Vernon Poling was 44 years old when he finally got a home of his own.

The Iraq War veteran was medically discharged from the Army in 2014, had to quit his trucking job for medical reasons, and found himself living out of his pickup last year in Orange County, a sprawling area of Southern California known for beaches, Disneyland and high housing costs.

Poling was homeless for seven months before he found temporary housing in the area. He then learned about Potters Lane, an apartment complex made from recycled shipping containers, just for homeless veterans. Its believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S.

On a sunny Friday in April, Poling walked into his 480-square-foot (45-square-meter) apartment for the first time, set down his backpack on his new floor and took it all in.

I have never had a place of my own, Poling said. I got out of high school, I tried working. I was still living with the parents. I joined the Army at 23, active duty. Then I was staying with Uncle Sam in the barracks To finally have my own place, it feels really good.

Poling was the last of 15 homeless veterans to move into Potters Lane, a $6.7 million project paid for with federal, state and local dollars, donations and money from the nonprofit behind the project, American Family Housing, among other sources.

The apartments could easily belong to San Francisco tech workers or hipsters in Los Angeles trendy Arts District. Each of the 15 furnished units are made of three shipping containers pieced together and spiffed up with faux wood flooring, drywall and floor-to-ceiling windows on two of four walls. They include artwork and homemade quilts, and overlook a courtyard that includes a giant American flag, a garden, grills and picnic tables.

Jae C. Hong, The Associated Press

American Family Housing wanted to make sure the complexs design built on the strength of the U.S. military, said Donna Gallup, the groups president.

All of the units look over the courtyard so that they can watch each others backs and develop that community and that sense of belonging, she said.

The men now living at Potters Lane were among 350 homeless veterans in Orange County.

The countys homeless population is much smaller than that of neighboring Los Angeles, but its expanding. Orange County has about 4,800 homeless people overall, a 13 percent increase since 2013, according to Point-in-Time, a group that tracks homelessness.

Potters Lane is a positive step forward, but with just 15 apartments, its also a drop in the bucket for the regions homeless, said Eve Garrow, homelessness policy analyst for the American Civil Liberties Unions Orange County office.

About 54 percent of all people experiencing homelessness in the county are literally living in the streets, Garrow said. Meanwhile, the wait time for affordable housing is between five and 10 years when you can get on the list. So theres a dire shortage.

Garrow also has concerns about the location of Potters Lane in a commercial area among car repair shops.

We need to be thinking about models that integrate people who were previously homeless so they can enjoy and access all the benefits the community offers, Garrow said. It may be politically a little easier to put these projects in more remote or industrial areas, but that may not be meeting the needs of the people who occupy those units.

Gallup of American Family Housing said the location helped speed the permitting process.

In just about six months time we had an entire 15-unit project completed, Gallup said. Normally a traditional project would take up to two years to build, and the fact that our homeless veterans are sleeping on the streets right now, I think timing is very important.

Megan Hustings, director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition for the Homeless, said shes never heard of using shipping containers for permanent housing for the homeless, though there have been affordable housing projects involving tiny houses in places like Denver, Seattle and Austin.

A lack of affordable housing nationwide means more projects like Potters Lane are needed, Hustings said.

Were going to have to consider a wide variety of solutions, she said. Everyones really feeling the crunch. Its just everywhere.

After two months of living in his new home, Poling said he was feeling settled and had made friends, particularly with his next-door neighbor Dale Dollar, a former Marine who was homeless for 14 years.

On a recent Monday evening, Poling and Dollar sidled up to a picnic table with plates of pasta and salad, part of a weekly meal provided to Potters Lane residents by a local nonprofit. They laughed and bobbed their heads to upbeat oldies playing on speakers as they chowed down.

Though he appreciates the company, Poling said the best part of his new home is probably his bed.

Theres been a couple nights that Ive been surprised Ive slept so long, Poling said. Its a load off.

___

Follow Amanda Lee Myers on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmandaLeeAP

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Once homeless, Iraq War veteran moves into unique new home - The Denver Post