Mediaboss Marketing

Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, 08 April 2017 The Iraq: Youth and Coexistence forum engaging youth in the search of ideas for Iraqs post-Daesh future convened today in Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the fifth stop of cross-country meetings and one which is gaining more significance as the triumph over the terrorists in Mosul is approaching.

The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Iraq for Political and Electoral Affairs Mr. Gyrgy Busztin, stated in an opening address that unity is key to peace and prosperity and provides hope for the future generation, with peaceful coexistence serving as the main pillar of national unity.

I confidently hope that all the territory and population of Mosul city as well as all other parts of Iraq would be liberated very soon from the captivity of the extremist terrorist group and rescued from the brutality of their heinous crimes, Mr. Busztin said.

A total of 80 youth in the age group of 18-35 from Sulaymaniyah, Erbil and Halabja Governorates participated in the forum, which the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) organized in cooperation with the Iraqi Al-Amal Association. The meeting in Sulaymaniyah is the fifth of a series of cross-country youth forums intended to give a voice to youth for their crucial role in charting the road to peaceful co-existence in a future Iraq. With these kind of fora, the young generation of Iraqis across different ethnic and sectarian backgrounds has the opportunity to deliberate post-conflict issues, engage on national reconciliation and voice their opinion.

The opening session was attended by member of the board of Al-Amal Association Ms. Amena Goyani, and DSRSG Busztin, who stressed the importance of this forum convening in Sulaymaniyah, which he described as the cultural capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

This meeting is of deep significance, as it does represent fraternity among the youth from diverse communities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and further their willingness to discuss coexistence in a post-Daesh Iraq, the DSRSG said. We are fully aware that comprehensive and frank discussion among all segments of society is essential in order to face the heritage of the past, address the threat of the present, and build a common future for Iraq.

The cross-country forums were first launched in Basra on 28 January 2017, and brought together about 120 participants from the four southern governorates of Basra, Missan, Dhi Qar and Muthanna. The second followed in Erbil on 19 February with 135 participants from Ninewa Governorate. The third was held in Najaf on 18 March, with 115 participants from the Najaf, Karbala, Babel and Qadissiyah Governorates taking part, and the fourth was on 25 March in Diyala Governorate where 68 youth participated. Other conferences are to follow in the Governorates of Baghdad, Kirkuk and Salaheddin, culminating in an overarching national conference in Baghdad in May to be attended by representatives of the youth to incorporate recommendations from these forums in the decisions that support the process of reconciliation and coexistence.

As with the format for all the conferences, the participants in the Sulaymaniyah forum broke up into working groups to deliberate and respond to questions about what they would like to see in a future Iraq and how they can contribute. At the end of the meeting, the participants debated their responses and adopted a set of recommendations.

Read more here:
UN at Iraq: Youth and Coexistence Forum in Sulaymaniyah: Near Defeat of Daesh Makes Reconciliation More ... - ReliefWeb

Shia militia flags hang from a mosque in Mosul. (photo credit:SETH J. FRANTZMAN)

NIMRUD, Iraq -The floating bridge that spans the Tigris River south of Mosul was built after Iraqi security forces cleared Islamic State terrorists from the area last year. Today it has a checkpoint at each end run by the Iraqi Army. But attached to the bridge is a large flag with the image of the Shia Imam Ali (601661 CE). A sword dripping in blood hangs below him. It symbolizes the vengeance of Hussein, a reference to the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who was murdered in 680.

When the Mosul offensive began last October, Qais al-Khazaali, a leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq Shia militia promised that the battle against the black flag of ISIS would echo the ancient martyrdom that led to the creation of Shia Islam. But things would go differently this time. Hussein would triumph and the Sunni extremists with their black flag would be sent to their graves. For many Shia this is a just revenge, similar to the Soviets raising the Red Banner over the Reichstag in 1945. ISIS carried out unspeakable crimes against Shia at places such as Camp Speicher in Tikrit in 2014. It cleansed them from areas under its control.

A few months ago someone circulated a meme on Facebook showing Eddard Stark from Game of Thrones holding the Ya-Hussein flag that the militias often adorn their checkpoints and vehicles with. Winter is coming, said the meme. The media was comical but not the message: There is a new power growing in Iraq. The sword of the Shia militias has been drawn and it shall not be sheathed. Driving from Erbil in the Kurdish region to West Mosul today requires traversing at least 10 checkpoints, many of them manned by local Shia militias affiliated with the Hashd al-Shaabi or Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). They arent all Shia or Arab; there is an Assyrian Christian affiliate, Shia Turkmen, Sunni tribes, and other minorities such as the Shabak have their own Hashd. But the vast majority are Shia and the Shia flags symbolize the militias power and religious affiliation. The PMU is made up of various large militias including Kataib Hezbollah, the Badr Organization and the Imam Ali Battalions.

Since last year they have been incorporated officially into the security apparatus of the Iraqi state. This is a reminder of how the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps functions. It is also how Hezbollah has come to dominate politics in Lebanon. The recipe is the same: First, create a political party. Then create a religious militia to go with it. Then get the government to recognize and accept the militia as part of the defensive forces of the state. In Iran this started with the 1979 revolution. In Lebanon it began after the Israeli invasion in 1982 and has grown incrementally since 2006.

ISIS has fueled the power of Hezbollah, allowing it to pretend it is protecting Lebanon from Islamist extremists and extend its power into Syria. In Iraq the Shia militia origins may date to the 1980s, but their current power derives entirely from the war on ISIS that began in June 2014. When the Iraqi Army disintegrated, they stepped into the breach. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa calling on Iraqi citizens to defend the country from ISIS. Hundreds of thousands flocked to the flag over the next two-and-a-half years. Now that tide of men and arms has reached Mosul.

Locals claim the Shia militias are abusing people who flee Mosul, accusing them of being members of ISIS. I tried to enter the Hamam al-Alil displaced persons camp just south of Mosul and was turned away brusquely by the militias. Later we were told there had been an incident in the camp whose entrance is controlled by the PMU but whose residents are Sunni Arabs. The PMU have even posted a giant sign declaring that they are confirming the safty [sic] of the camps, giving aid equally. They specify no shooting in the air for any reason. Hundreds of thousands have fled Mosul for camps like this. Some are run by the UNHCR, but the militias play an outsized role on the roads leading to them.

One teenager from a village occupied by the militias who fled to the Kurdish region says he despises Iran, which supports the militias. He opposes the Shia who he says have no place in northern Iraq. He claims they are handing out Hussein flags and Shia religious books to children, trying to convert them. His sentiments are shared by almost every Sunni I spoke to, including Kurds and Arabs who see an Iranian hand planting itself firmly around Mosul. Many say there is no difference between the religious extremism of ISIS and the militias. If those sentiments are even partially representative, it is only a matter of time before a new round of violence breaks out. If ISIS gave the militias an excuse to expand their power to Mosul, a historically Sunni city, attacks on Shia symbols may only increase their power as they portray themselves as cracking down on Sunni Islamist terrorism.

Relevant to your professional network? Please share on Linkedin

Read the original:
A hitchhiker's guide to the militias that now dominate much of Iraq - Jerusalem Post Israel News

From the moment in early 2014 that fighters from the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) surged into Fallujah and seized the citys dam, Mohammed Amin feared the worst. As a farmer who was heavily dependent on an aging network of canals that flow east out of the Euphrates River, Amin knew how easily the jihadists might sabotage his crops. And so when the group slammed the Fallujah dam shut that August, flooding much of Baghdads agricultural belt and halting an Iraqi army advance, Amin was better prepared than most. I kept my seeds, my fertilizer, everything up high. I had this feeling, he said.

But what neither he nor his neighbors, all farmers working the land in the shadow of a notorious former U.S. prison, could have anticipated was the long-term environmental damage that ISIS might inflict on the area, even in defeat. After being driven from Fallujah in May 2016, the jihadists blew six of the dams ten gates, forcing officials to cut flow into the canals. Nine months later, and still without water, swaths of eastern Anbar Province are bone dry. Dirty water, low water, bad canals: we thought wed seen everything, Amin said, staring out over his parched fields. Now its even worse, though. After those animals, theres no water at all.

Much of the reporting on ISIS hasunderstandablycentered on the human toll of its terror. But Iraqs two great rivers have also been hit hard, and the consequences are likely to last well beyond the groups eventual demise. Already beset by an array of problems, the Euphrates and Tigris have been dirtied with corpses, sullied with munitions waste, and littered with defunct water infrastructure over the past three years. For a country that depends on these famed waterways to irrigate over 80 percent of its agriculture, the additional woes have pushed Iraqi farmers to the brink. The people have survived, but with no water and all this damage,

Here is the original post:
The Dangerous State of Iraq's Rivers Letter From Abu Ghraib - Foreign Affairs (subscription)

SOUTHWEST ASIA, April 7, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, conducting 24 strikes consisting of 58 engagements against ISIS targets yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterdays strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 14 strikes consisting of 16 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed an ISIS wellhead.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an ISIS wellhead.

-- Near Raqqa, four strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units; and destroyed four fighting positions and a tactical vehicle.

-- Near Tabqah, eight strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units; destroyed three fighting positions and a vehicle-borne bomb; and suppressed two ISIS tactical units.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 10 strikes consisting of 42 engagements against ISIS targets, coordinated with and in support of Iraqs government:

-- Near Beiji, a strike destroyed a tactical vehicle.

-- Near Huwayjah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle and a supply cache.

-- Near Mosul, six strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units; destroyed four mortar systems, three fighting positions, two vehicle-borne-bomb factories, two command-and-control nodes, a rocket system and a tactical vehicle; and suppressed six mortar teams and two ISIS tactical units.

-- Near Qaim, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed an improvised weapons facility and a vehicle.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and an ISIS staging area and destroyed a supply cache and an artillery system.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect. For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

Go here to read the rest:
Strikes Continue Against ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq - Department of Defense

The gut-wrenching news was all too familiar: a dictator unleashing a deadly chemical attack on his own people. The Butcher of Baghdad, Saddam Hussein, used chemical weapons in the 1980s. Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2013, and then again just a few days ago. In perhaps what might be the biggest test of President Trump's presidency, the question remains: will Syria be Trump's Iraq War?

From 2007-2010, I traveled to Baghdad 14 times as a civilian member of a special Department of Defense task force in charge of economic development and rebuilding as part of General David Petraeus' counterinsurgency strategy. The strategy, or "COIN" as we referred to it, focused on winning the hearts and minds of the people. Political victories, rather than military victories, were the key to achieving success. Military strength has its limitations, and COIN understood that

Although I'm a Republican, as a Mexican-American I have been very critical of Trump for obvious reasons but Trump's decision to fire 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles in Syria was the right call. I applaud his quick and decisive action as it sends a clear message to our allies and adversaries alike that a new sheriff is in town, and that this administration will not tolerate such atrocities so long as he is the president.

In a perfect world, the launching of Tomahawk cruise missiles would be the equivalent of a mic drop. But unfortunately, thanks to recent history over the last decade, we know that's not the case. Assad will have to respond, and Russia will be forced to either intervene or rush to Syria's defense. Either way, it doesn't look good.

Syria is now ground zero for ISIS. And for an organization that thrives on death and chaos, this is their dream scenario. From 2003-2012, it was Iraq and Afghanistan. Now it's Syria. With a former U.S. Marine Corps General with extensive on-the-ground combat training and expertise now the secretary of defense, a deployment of at least some U.S. troops to Syria seems almost inevitable.

If we learned anything from COIN and our battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, we will need a combination of military and civilian personnel to deploy to Syria to establish some form of stability and fast. Rebel fighters will need training, weapons and ammunition. ISIS and ISIS recruiters will need to be outnumbered and marginalized. Like radiation is to cancer cells, an aggressive strategy must be implemented to keep ISIS cells from metastasizing throughout Syria.

The American people are clearly not ready to endure yet another conflict. But in a post-September 11 era, we have no choice. How Trump chooses to address this new reality in Syria will perhaps be the greatest test of his presidency.

Mark Vargas (@MarkAVargas) is co-founder and president of Licentiam. From 2007-2010, he served as a civilian within the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense.

If you would like to write an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, please read our guidelines on submissions here.

Also from the Washington Examiner

President Obama's former deputy national security adviser indicated Saturday that he isn't very happy with President Trump's decision to hit a Syrian air base with missiles.

Trump's missile strike, which was retaliation for Syria's use of chemical weapons, drew instant comparisons to Obama, who warned the U.S. would act if Syria used chemical weapons.

Obama did nothing after Syria crossed that "red line" of Obama's, and many said Trump was the one to finally enforce Obama's ultimatum years later.

But in an early Saturday morning tweet, Rhodes suggested that Trump's strike was only aimed at boosting his press coverage, and seemed to warn reporters against helping him achieve this.

04/08/17 4:04 PM

Continued here:
Will Syria be Trump's Iraq War? - Washington Examiner