Archive for the ‘Iraq’ Category
Petraeus: Biggest threat to Iraq's future is Iran, not ISIS
David Petraeus speaks onstage during a fireside chat at the Team Rubicon Salute To Service Awards at Skirball Cultural Center on November 7, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Imeh Akpanudosen, Getty Images
The greatest threat to long-term stability in Iraq is not Sunni militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but rather the Iranian-backed Shiite militias who have helped oust ISIS from parts of the country, General David Petraeus warned in an interview published Friday by the Washington Post.
Petraeus, who commanded U.S. troops during the height of America's war in Iraq, said the current situation there is "hard but not hopeless." He warned, though, that the Iranians will not play a constructive role in Iraq's future, despite the fact that the U.S. and Iran share a common foe in ISIS.
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"I would argue that the foremost threat to Iraq's long-term stability and the broader regional equilibrium is not the Islamic State; rather, it is Shiite militias, many backed by -- and some guided by -- Iran," he said.
"They prevented the Islamic State from continuing its offensive into Baghdad," he acknowledged. "Nonetheless, they have, in some cases, cleared not only Sunni extremists but also Sunni civilians and committed atrocities against them. Thus, they have, to a degree, been both part of Iraq's salvation but also the most serious threat to the all-important effort of once again getting the Sunni Arab population in Iraq to feel that it has a stake in the success of Iraq rather than a stake in its failure."
Left unchecked, the Shia militias could "emerge as the preeminent power" in Iraq, he said, "outside the control of the government and instead answerable to Tehran."
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Petraeus: Biggest threat to Iraq's future is Iran, not ISIS
Iraq War protesters drop coffins at White House
The group carried mock coffins, dropping them off in front of the White House and near lawmaker offices at the Russell Senate Office Building near the Capitol. Along the way, they also dropped coffins in front of various defense contractor offices.
The "Spring Rising" event was organized by the Answer Coalition, which characterized the rally as "an antiwar intervention."
Speakers at the rally expressed concern about U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, its drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia, and its "provocation" in Russia, Ukraine and Eastern Europe. The assembled warned against war with Iran.
The United States and its allies are negotiating a possible deal with Iran to curb its nuclear program. If such a deal is not reached, the United States has not completely ruled out a future military strike to prevent the Iranian regime from developing a nuclear weapon.
One of the event's key organizers, activist Cindy Sheehan, told CNN that President Barack Obama has expanded the U.S. war footprint "to more countries than even (former President George W.) Bush."
"With the new authorization to use military force being requested by the President to Congress, it was urgent to come to Washington, D.C. We're in opposition to that," said Sheehan, who was a leader of the opposition to the Iraq War. Her son Casey, an Army specialist, died in 2004 while serving in Iraq.
The group was peaceful, and there were no arrests.
CNN's Brandie Patterson contributed to this report.
As Iraq forces push back Islamic State, a lucky few are able to make it home
ALAM, Iraq Sabha al-Jabbouri gingerly opened the door to her family home to see a kitchen strewn with dirty pots and pans and rubbish. On the table was a half-eaten meal, indicating that the unwelcome guests who had lived here for eight months had left in a hurry.
On the wall outside was scrawled: Property of the Islamic State. Seized after Jabbouris family fled in late June, the home had been used as an administrative office by the militant Sunni group. Printed forms from its Department of Prisons had been tossed around downstairs bedrooms that were filled with desks and printers.
May God destroy them, Jabbouri cried, as she shut kitchen cupboard doors and surveyed the mess. They pretend they are religious men, but look, they live like animals.
Her family is among more than 200 that had returned to the Sunni town of Alam in Iraqs Salahuddin province in the first 30hours after it was reopened to residents this past week, according to figures from militiamen manning the towns checkpoints. But those going home are a lucky minority.
An offensive aimed at retaking Tikrit from Islamic State forces has secured a string of Sunni towns and villages in the province, which military leaders claim is now largely under government control. But the cars and trucks packed with children, blankets and mattresses backed up at Alams main checkpoint represent just a handful of the thousands of Sunnis displaced from the area. The returnees here are almost exclusively from the Jabbour tribe, which has garnered a reputation for its fierce resistance to the Islamic State.
Iraqi troops and militia are welcomed with celebrations after retaking the town of Alam, which had been under Islamic State control, clearing the way for an assault on Tikrit. (Reuters)
The Shiite militias that control the area view other Sunnis with suspicion, accusing them of sympathizing or collaborating with the extremists. Just a few miles down the road, the village of Dawr remains closed to returning residents, while militiamen have burned houses in nearby Abu Ajeel.
We are only letting families back in to al-Alam, to be more specific, only the Jabbour, said Saad al-Daraji, a Shiite militiaman manning the checkpoint. The others were supporting Daesh, he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. They dont have any mercy, so why should we have mercy for them.
Some Iraqi officials also worry that if they allow residents back, Islamic State militants could mix in with returning families, posing a security threat.
But keeping them out exacerbates the Sunni-Shiite tension that underlies Iraqs violence and has helped drive many Sunnis away from the state and toward groups like the Islamic State.
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As Iraq forces push back Islamic State, a lucky few are able to make it home