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The military defeat of the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq should herald a new, peaceful era for the country, with the resettlement of thousands of displaced families and the rebuilding of towns and cities. Instead, a dark autumn cloud has appeared on the horizon in the form of an independence referendum to be held in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on 25 September.

The Iraqi Kurdish leadership insists that the vote is designed to measure the desire of the Kurds for independence, rather than trigger an automatic process leading to statehood. Nevertheless, the whole subject of the Kurds seeking their own state is an extremely sensitive one for the federal government in Baghdad.

The federal authorities oppose on principle any move that threatens the territorial integrity of the Iraqi state. Even more so since the proposed Kurdish independence region includes disputed territoryin particular the oil-rich region of Kirkuk. The Kirkuk oilfield and close by Bai Hassan field, which came under Kurdish control in 2014, provide around 380,000 barrels a day of output for the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), more than its half total production (600,000 b/d).

Kirkuk represents a red line for the KRG as much as it does for the government in Baghdad. Iraqi Kurds describe Kirkuk as their 'Jerusalem'.

In the view of the president of the Kurdish region, Masoud Barzani, writing recently in the Washington Post, "Kurdistan's case for independence is compelling" as the Kurds missed out on statehood after World War One when the territories of the defeated Ottoman empire were divided up into new nations.

In later times, he continued, "the newly established state of Iraq was supposed to be an equal partnership between Arabs and Kurds. That hopeful dream soon gave way to a grim reality. All Iraqi governments suppressed the Kurds".

The likelihood is that the referendum planned for September will go ahead and may well show majority support for statehood, but it won't all be plain sailing because of intra-Kurdish political disputes. Not all groups back the joint decision of Barzani's Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to call for a vote.

Even within the PUK some say the time isn't right, while the opposition Goran movement, which received more votes than the PUK in the most recent elections, accuses the KDP of using the referendum for domestic political advantage. The Kurdistan Islamic Group has also questioned Barzani's motives.

At the same time, Iran and Turkey, with sizeable Kurdish minorities of their own, are uneasy at the idea of Turkish Kurds achieving statehood. The KRG needs to be wary of Turkey, for nearly all its oil exports are piped across the east of that country to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast. Turkish companies have invested heavily in the Iraqi Kurds' energy and economic sectors, and the two sides have signed an agreement for the cross-border supply of Kurdish natural gas.

So the stakes are high on a number of fronts. Iraqis will be hoping that Kurdish leaders think over all the implications carefully before pushing the button for independence. Iraq has been living under one dark cloud or another for too long and a military clash over Kirkuk might be the last straw for many.

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Iraq: more clouds ahead - Petroleum Economist

An Iraqi soldier stands inside a compound ISIS used as a prison in Mosul. Alkis Konstantinidis / Reuters

Agriculture is not an unimportant source of income for them, he told NBC News.

Woertz explained that ISIS had previously been able to seize the wages of civil servants who lived in militant-held zones but were still being paid government wages. However, Iraq had ended the practice of paying wages into ISIS-controlled areas, cutting off a revenue stream to the militants.

It is also not a winning brand anymore, Woertz said. When it was gaining control of areas it had an image of invincibility for a little while or was able to project that image on social media but now it is a losing brand that attracts less overseas support in the form of donations.

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As far as they want to be a state, they have failed, or are about to fail, Woertz said.

However, despite ISIS's "caliphate" project appearing increasingly unsustainable, experts warned that conditions in the region were still ripe for Islamist violence.

"A great deal will depend on effective governance in areas [liberated from ISIS]," said Butter of Chatham House. "But it is still quite a mess. There are a lot of people pushing ISIS-style ideology and they may find some receptiveness in Iraq if the country continues to be governed in the way it has been.

"ISIS as weve known it is looking very much on the way out, but something else could replace it," he added. "The ideology behind it is quite virulent.

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ISIS Revenue Falls 80 Percent as Militants Lose Ground in Iraq, Syria - NBCNews.com

Canada has about 200 special forces soldiers operating in northern Iraq, supported by a combat hospital, a helicopter detachment, a surveillance plane and an air-to-air refueling aircraft. Photograph: Valda Kalnina/EPA

Canada is extending its military mission against the Islamic State group in Iraq for another two years, the countrys defense minister announced Thursday.

Harjit Sajjan left open the possibility of ramping up the offensive, saying the military would deploy capabilities as needed.

The coalition has made significant progress in the fight against Daesh in Mosul, Sajjan said in a statement, using the Arabic name for the group.

As the situation evolves, coalition allies and partners must remain flexible and adapt to changing threats.

Implicit in the announcement is a rejection of accusations by opposition parties that Justin Trudeaus government has been waging a secret war in Iraq without parliamentary approval.

Canada has about 200 special forces soldiers operating in northern Iraq supported by a combat hospital, a helicopter detachment, a surveillance plane and an air-to-air refueling aircraft.

Critics questioned the governments claim that Canada had undertaken a non-combat advise and assist role in Iraq after it was revealed earlier this month that a Canadian special forces sniper had killed an Isis fighter.

I can tell you that defending our allies in the coalition has been an integral part of our mission, Trudeau said on Tuesday.

This is completely in keeping with our responsibilities as Canadians, as members of the coalition in northern Iraq, and it will continue to be that way, he said.

For Sajjan, Canadian operations in Iraq are consistent with a recent defense policy review that made very clear Canadas readiness and willingness to do its part for the global community, including confronting security issues that threaten our shores and those of our allies and partners.

Trudeaus Liberals withdrew six Canadian fighter jets from the coalition in 2016, fulfilling a campaign promise, but tripled the number of military trainers in Iraq to 210.

Hundreds of ground personnel were also deployed to support two surveillance aircraft and a refueling jet, as well as a handful of tactical helicopters.

The mission extension to the end of March 2019 the same year Trudeau goes to the polls to seek a second mandate allows for a total number of 850 soldiers tasked to the coalition.

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Canada commits to fight against Isis in Iraq for another two years - The Guardian

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE

Air Force Capt. Gregory Billy Bob Thornton was flying over Iraq catching up on old times with a fellow A-10 jet pilot on the ground serving with a U.S. Army unit in Baghdad when the conversation abruptly changed.

He comes back on the radio and he says, Were taking direct enemy fire. We need you in here now. And it went from kind of catching up with one of our buddies to now going in and protecting him because hes under fire, Thornton said.

It was April 6, 2003, just days after U.S. troops went into Baghdad during the Iraq war.

Nearby, fellow A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot Lt. Col. Raymond Donk Strasburger was flying in a second jet and would soon join Thornton in a fierce battle with Iraqi Republican Guard troops firing tank rounds at U.S. soldiers on the other side of the Tigris River.

Thornton, 47, will receive a Silver Star the third highest medal for valor in the military in a private ceremony today at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force for his effort to help thwart the assault against U.S. troops.

Air Combat Command commander Gen. James Mike Holmes was expected to present the medal.

Thornton said the medal, upgraded from a Distinguished Flying Cross he originally received for the combat mission, was humbling. Air Force squadron mates had originally asked that Thornton receive the Silver Star. The Air Force agreed to the upgrade after a review of the mission years later.

I was actually driving to work when the general called to let me know, and I was shocked, surprised, thrilled, all kinds of emotions, said Thornton, a Southwest Airlines pilot who lives in Monument, Colo.

Strasburger, 56, a retired colonel, flew to Dayton with his wife, Teresa, from their home in Germany for the event. Thornton and Strasburger were assigned to the 75th Fighter Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., during the Iraq war.

In an email sent en route to Dayton, Strasburger, previously given the Silver Star for the combat mission, lauded Thorntons unequivocal and heart-felt dedication to preserve the lives of their fellow A-10 pilot and Army soldiers under a hailstorm of heavy enemy fire on the ground, and to simultaneously destroy the enemy at the expense of his own life if thats what it took.

According to an Air Force narrative, Thornton and Strasburger made multiple passes under enemy fire, firing the Thunderbolt IIs 30-millimeter gun and launching rockets and missiles through very heavy anti-aircraft fire and blinding sandstorms to decimate an enemy Republican Guard force.

In the midst of the 33-minute attack, the two aircraft destroyed three T-72 tanks, six armored personnel carriers and several other enemy vehicles, the Air Force said.

The memories are still vivid for Thornton, a retired lieutenant colonel.

The adrenalin was just amazing when we got done flying, he said. My first shot was on the lead tank, and I got a secondary explosion, and I still remember that vividly.

On his fourth pass, something he believes it may have been a missile nearly struck his A-10.

I maneuvered the airplane hard and I remember hearing Donks voice on the radio going, Are you OK?

Thornton was. The pilot went back on the offensive in a sandstorm that cut visibility to about a mile, or three times less pilots are normally allowed to train in, he said.

The two pilots used night flying-like tactics to avoid hitting each other, Thornton said.

You do so many different scenarios through training, and you just get comfortable in the airplane and it becomes a part of you, he said. The training kicked in. I didnt feel scared at all.

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Former Air Force pilot to receive Silver Star for Iraq combat mission - Dayton Daily News

VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) The future is uncertain for an Iraq war veteran who was recently taken into ICE custody, despite growing up in the Portland area.

Chong Hwan Kim, 42, was born in South Korea. His father said their family had green cards when they legally immigrated to the United States more than 35 years ago.

KOIN 6 News confirmed Kim was a member of the National Guard for more than 5 years and served as an E4 Army specialist as a rifleman in Iraq.

He received a general discharge under honorable conditions.

But he also has a criminal record, which complicates his legal status.

Navy veteran Jordan Meyers reached out to KOIN 6 News after learning that Kim, his friend, had been detained by ICE and was being held in their Tacoma facility. Meyers said he and Kim belong to a support group for disabled veterans with PTSD.

Hes a positive member of my life, Meyers said. I wouldnt be where I am now without him.

Records show Kim has been arrested on several charges, including a mixture of felonies and misdemeanors, over the last 5 years. In 2016, he was convicted of attempted arson and possession of a destructive device.

Meyers said he knows about Kims criminal record, but said his friend has been working to clean up his act for some time now.

We dont leave anyone behind, Meyers said. Chong put his life on the line, he put himself in danger to sacrifice for our country. Regardless of maybe having a few issues here and there, we can stand behind him and help him in his recovery.

Kims father said a judge told his son, if he kept getting into trouble with the law, his immigration status could be in jeopardy. Now his family is worried about what could happen if gets deported back to South Korea where he is unfamiliar with the language, the country and its people.

Im just absolutely shocked that somebody who served our country honorably [that] there would be any question as to whether theyre welcome [here], Meyers said.

Officials with ICEs Tacoma branch wouldnt tell KOIN 6 News if or when Kim will be deported. His family says they cant afford to hire their own immigration lawyer.

Originally posted here:
Iraq vet in ICE custody may be deported to S Korea - NBC4i.com