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The first few weeks of Donald Trumps presidency have been a political roller coaster for Iraq.

On Jan. 21, the newly minted commander in chief raised his oft-repeated mantra that the United States might have offset the costs of the Iraq War by somehow seizing Iraqi oil. Six days later, he signed an executive order banning Iraqi nationals from entering the United States for 90 days and Iraqi refugees from entering for 120 days. The banned persons initially included thousands of translators and other Iraqis who risked their lives by serving alongside U.S. troops in Iraq.

Though Iraqs parliament issued a nonbinding call to retaliate by banning American visitors, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi chose to take the high road. Refusing to bow to domestic political pressure, heruled outa reciprocal travel ban in a speech on Jan. 31.

The day before Abadi rejected a travel ban on Americans, the Iraqi parliamentratifiedthe appointment of Qassem al-Araji as the new interior minister.Araji is a staunchly anti-American Shiite militant who spent 26 months in coalition custody under charges of supporting Iranian-backed insurgents and now he is in charge of Iraqs largest ministry, complete with its own special forces, intelligence service, miniature army (the Federal Police), and hundreds of police stations all over the country.

Arajis party, the Badr Organization, has held the ministry since 2014, but the governmentresisted his appointment to the ministership for six months, in favor of a Badr officeholder less hostile toward the United States, Kurds, and Sunnis. That resistance crumbled in the face of the U.S. travel ban. It was a case study in how misplaced words or hasty acts in Washington can have dire consequences in places like Iraq, where America is most vulnerable.

U.S. national interests and Iraq

Abadis statesmanlike restraint which may yet come at a cost to his political future in the 2018 elections is also a reminder of the significant interests that the United States and Iraq share, particularly as the two countries fight shoulder to shoulder in Mosul. Whether you care about Iraqs fate or not and I do, emphatically the country is simply too important to broader U.S. interests to risk its failure.

Iraq is the fourth-most populous state in the Middle East. If you are sickened by the suffering of Syrias 23 million people or worried by the refugee outflow and the terrorist safe haven inside the country, try to imagine how much worse the situation would be with an added 36 million Iraqis thrown into the mix.

This nearly happened when the Islamic State seized a third of Iraq in 2014 but was prevented in large part due to the Iraqi counterattack enabled by the U.S.-led international coalition. Iraq will come apart again, and a new Islamic State-type threat will emerge, unless Washington stays engaged.

Iraq is also home to the fifth-largest oil reserves in the world. Imagine these riches in the hands of an anti-Western regime backed by Iran, which itself holds the fourth-largest oil reserves.

The new U.S administration has placed Iran on notice for its destabilizing support of proxy forces and the expansion of its influence across the Middle East. And nowhere is this struggle more urgent than in Iraq. Since the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in December 2011, Iranian influence has swelled. The Iraqi Shiite militias supported by Iran have been executing their own foreign policy, acting as an Iranian foreign legion in Syria. Some of these actors Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq have recast themselves as the Popular Mobilization Units, volunteers in the fight against the Islamic State, but their real intent is to fight on beyond the liberation of Mosul and form a permanent Iraqi arm of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Other Iranian-backed actors, like Interior Minister Araji, now run key security organs.

If moderates like Prime Minister Abadi are undermined by these Iranian proxies, Iraq will slowly slide back into a Syria-like civil war. The Islamic State or a successor will fill this vacuum. All the gains of the last two years will be lost, and the United States will be driven out of Iraq by Iranian proxies thus losing the ability to directly prevent the re-emergence of a new terrorist safe haven in the heart of the Middle East.

Americas future role in Iraq

The good news is that the United States is not swimming against the tide of Iraqi politics. On the contrary, it has aligned itself with the political and religious mainstream. Most Iraqis dont want their country to be controlled by outsiders. They want sovereignty, choices, and leverage.

This is not what Iran offers. Iraqi nationalists whether they are Shiite moderates like Abadi, U.S.-trained special forces soldiers, Sunni Arabs, or even homegrown Shiite radicals like Moqtada al-Sadr know that it would be curtains for them as soon as the Iranian-backed factions took over Baghdad. Meanwhile, the Shiite religious leadership in Najaf is looking down the barrel of an Iranian gun. When the countrys preeminent Shiite religious authority, the 86-year-old Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, passes away, there will be a fierce scramble for spiritual leadership of Iraqi Shiites, and Iran will play hardball for this ultimate prize.

The semiautonomous Iraqi Kurds, Americas oldest allies in Iraq, can also look forward to a new confrontation with the Iraqi government if Tehrans proxies take over Baghdad. Just as the theocracy in Tehran constantly vents its special hatred for Irans Kurds, so too will the IRGC try to place Iraqi Kurds under the hammer of an oppressive state.

The United States has a much less prescriptive vision thats far more attractive to Iraqis: Brett McGurk, the U.S. special envoy for the anti-Islamic State coalition, has called for functioning federalism, power sharing between ethnosectarian blocs, and a negotiated settlement over the future status of Iraqi Kurdistan between Baghdad and the Kurds. At heart, Washington wants a strong and sovereign Iraq so that the United States can reduce its presence without ceding the country to Iran.

Getting return on investment in Iraq

There is no recouping the young American lives lost in Iraq or clawing back the billions of dollars spent there. But the United States can save itself future costs in blood and treasure by keeping up a modest program of assistance to Iraqi moderates like Abadi and our allies in the Iraqi military and special forces.

Trump should understand that the U.S.-Iraqi partnership is, put simply, a great deal. If he is looking for a partner that supports U.S. objectives but carries most of the costs itself, he should look no further than Iraq over the last two years.

Take U.S. economic assistance to Iraq, for example. Washington played a lead role in pulling together $16 billion worth of economic aid to pay for Iraqs war against the Islamic State. But how much money did America directly put up? The main U.S. contribution was $2.7 billion in foreign military financing credit in effect, a loan to buy U.S. military equipment, which helps American industry as well as Iraqs military.

A strong Iraq led by moderates will become a powerful economy where American firms can compete on a level playing field. U.S. engineering giant General Electric recently announced a $1.4 billion deal to upgrade Iraqs electricity sector, one of a number of megadeals favoring the United States in sectors such as defense and energy.

Iraq is an even stronger partner in the security sphere. From 2014 to 2016, U.S. military commanders assessed that the Islamic State had suffered 45,000 fatalities in Iraq and Syria, with the larger share likely in Iraq. In the same period, four U.S. personnel were killed in action in Iraq. That number is so low only because the Iraqi security forces have taken on the vast majority of the fighting with air support from the U.S.-led coalition, the embodiment of the burden sharing expected from major allies by the new U.S. administration.

The Trump administration needs to act now to keep this formula going. The first thing it can do is extend the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve mission by at least two years. This coalition of more than 60 nations not only locks in substantive contributions from countries like Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Germany, and France; it also ensures that Iranian-backed militants will have a harder time targeting and criticizing a coalition that includes many of the nations that Iran is counting upon as investors and supporters of sanctions relief.

The United States also needs to extend a new Iraq Train and Equip Fund (ITEF) to support the Iraqi military beyond the end of 2017. The previous ITEF cost $1.6 billion and shattered the Islamic States dream of carving out a lasting caliphate across large swaths of Iraq. This kind of investment should be replicated with another three-year plan that supports the U.S.-built Iraqi Counterterrorism Service and the Iraqi Army, which represent the last, best hopes of resisting the growth of Iranian-backed militias.

This months close run with a ban on American visitors to Iraq was a warning shot: The U.S.-Iraqi relationship is not too big to fail. If the travel ban had happened after Mosul was liberated when Iranian-backed elements could argue the U.S. military was no longer needed then Abadi might not have been able to withstand the pressure. With Iraqi provincial elections due in September 2017 and national parliamentary elections in spring 2018, there will be growing pressure on Iraqi leaders to take populist measures.

When the next crisis hits, the United States needs to be an integral part of Iraqs programs to train and equip its military and bolster its economy. If the Trump administration continues to gravely offend Iraqis across the country, it cannot expect moderates like Prime Minister Abadi to continue standing up to Iranian pressure. And in that case, historians will one day look back and ask how the Trump administration lost Iraq.

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Memo to Trump: Iraq Is Too Big to Fail - Foreign Policy (blog)

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Feb. 13, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

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

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber and fighter aircraft conducted 15 strikes consisting of 15 engagements in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, a strike destroyed 27 oil barrels, 11 oil storage tanks and two oil tanker trucks.

-- Near Palmyra, a strike destroyed an anti-air artillery system.

-- Near Raqqa, 13 strikes engaged eight ISIS tactical units; destroyed eight fighting positions and a vehicle and damaged four supply routes.

Strikes in Iraq

Artillery as well as attack, fighter and rotary wing aircraft conducted two strikes consisting of 22 engagements in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraqs government:

-- Near Mosul, two strikes engaged an ISIS tactical unit and a staging area; destroyed eight watercraft, three barges, three vehicles, a tunnel entrance, a mortar system and a weapons facility; and suppressed four mortar teams.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, 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 buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIS to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do 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. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve,the operation to eliminate the ISIS terrorist group and the threat it poses to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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Military Strikes Target ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq - Department of Defense

MISSOULA Saif Alsaegh is a Montanan, through and through.

He has the Patagonia jacket and Chacos. He loves craft beer. He has a beard because "everyone in Montana has a beard."

Alsaegh, 26, is a second-year MFA student in University of Montana's Media Arts program. He grew up in Baghdad, and came to America on a full ride to the University of Great Falls several years ago. There, he got his business degree and after graduation decided to do what he truly loved: art.

"One of my goals as an artist here in the U.S. is to connect people to each other, to find common ground where we can share our humanity in peace," he said.

He published a collection of poetry, "Iraqi Headaches," in 2013. His work has been featured in other publications over the years.

Six years after moving to the states, he misses Montana when he leaves. On a trip to Nashville, he had to watch "A River Runs Through It" to cure his homesickness.

"I don't have that feeling for Iraq," he said. "Iraq is associated with pain. Montana is associated with beauty."

Now, he worries what could happen if he chooses to travel abroad.

Next month, his and his brother Fady's experimental film "Alazeef" premieres at the Cinma du Rel documentary film festival at the Pompidou Center and other venues in Paris, "probably the biggest screening we've had so far."

The film focuses on an Iraqi soldier in the week before Desert Storm in 1991. They use striking imagery and a variety of music Swedish, Iraqi, French, heavy metal to guide the story.

"We try to bridge the East and West," he said. "We want to separate the governments from the people.

"One of the main points of the film is to humanize 'the other,' in this case, Americans."

Early on in Alsaegh's UM academic career, faculty suggested he work closely with assistant professor of media arts Talena Sanders as his work leaned experimental.

"There's a long history of a relationship with poetry and experimental films," Sanders said. "In a lot of ways his poetry background rolls over into how he works on film."

Alsaegh and Fady work on their films over the phone and Skype, taking the time difference into account as Fady lives in Turkey. Fady sent Alsaegh a W.B. Yeats poem, "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death," that stuck with Alsaegh, as it humanizes that soldier in the same way the Alsaegh brothers bring humanity to their Iraqi soldier.

Part of the poem reads, "Those that I fight I do not hate; those that I guard I do not love."

But Alsaegh is no longer going to the festival.

"I don't want to leave in case something happens and I can't come back," he said, referring to the recent travel ban ordered by President Donald Trump. The ban included Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Although last week the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's halt to the travel ban, there's still too much uncertainty, Alsaegh said.

"When his film was accepted to Cinma du Rel, we talked about if he could go and what that would mean, because even before Trump took office, his status as an asylum seeker still made it very uncertain whether or not he could travel," Sanders said.

She sought advice from immigration lawyers, who said it was risky. Sanders and Alsaegh still thought they could make it work and then the travel ban came down.

"We couldn't risk him getting trapped in France," Sanders said. "It's very unfortunate because this is a big festival in our field and it's going to be a big premiere for his film, and a big opportunity for him to meet other filmmakers and curators. He misses out on that opportunity as a result of these restrictions."

It's a feeling that reminds Alsaegh of Iraq.

"Because of the policies of the new administration, we're back to feeling uncertain again," he said. "We come to escape the uncertainty of death, the safety that we don't have.

"Everything is condensed and surreal in Iraq. There's the routine of war. That's harder than the war itself. It's not the bombs, it's the routine of uncertainty of will I live or not, will I come back home."

"Nobody flees (expletive) situations in Iraq and other countries to restart that here," he said. "There's no refugee or immigrant that has the energy to start (expletive) here. They're fleeing.

"I think in general, Americans are smarter than this."

It's been too long since Alsaegh has seen his family. His brother, sister-in-law, mother and aunt now live in Turkey. They're trying to come to America, but they continue facing delays.

Alsaegh's father died a couple of months ago, and he wasn't able to be with his family. They used Skype so he could be there, in some way, for the Catholic Mass.

Alsaegh was told that his story would be better received by Americans because he's Christian and "westernized."

"That's sad, but it's fine," he said.

Alsaeghgrew up watching American troops roll down the streets of Baghdad, but "I never hated Americans."

"My friends and I back home, we all liked America growing up, even if we didn't necessarily like (George W.) Bush," he said. "We watched 'Friends,' 'Seinfeld,' 'Titanic.'"

The irony played out on their TVs. Saddam Hussein would give a speech against America, and the next program on TV would be a Hollywood movie.

"He's doing a dance all the time in his work of navigating this tension between the longing for home and the memories of home, and the relative security of his life in the U.S. and the freedom he has to make work that can be critical or experimental," Sanders said.

Alsaegh is now working with Humanities Montana as a speaker, heading to schools, universities and bookstores to screen his films, read his poetry and tell his life experiences.

"I'll share my art, which reflects who I am," he said. "I want to promote peace and communication. If we isolate Iraqis and people from other countries, distance turns into ambiguity and ambiguity turns into hate."

He's thankful for UM, as administration, faculty and students have all voiced their opposition to the travel ban.

"I think they're on the right side of this whole issue," he said.

Someday, Alsaegh would like to own a cabin in western Montana where he can focus solely on his art.

"Eventually I just want to be left alone to make art," he said.

Originally posted here:
University of Montana MFA student, Iraq native hopes to connect people through art - Montana Standard

The US Navy Strike Group has begun hitting Islamic State terrorist targets in Iraq and Syria from the eastern Mediterranean Sea after a two-month gap to demonstrate the tremendous warfighting capability and flexibility of the navy.

The US armada, which includes the flagship aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, arrived in the Mediterranean Sea on February 2. It replaced the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, which last struck Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) targets on December 12.

After a two month period, the US navy launched carrier-based strikes in support of Operation Inherent Resolve from the Mediterranean using the 6th Fleet arsenal usually headquartered in Naples, Italy.

The precision strike operations being carried out by the Bush Carrier Strike Group in the eastern Mediterranean Sea continue to demonstrate the tremendous warfighting capability and flexibility of the US Navy, commander of the US 6th Fleet, Vice Adm. Christopher W. Grady said.

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The Navy failed to disclose the number of sorties conducted on Monday or the exact locations of the targets.

By defeating violent extremists in Iraq and Syria, we are simultaneously supporting two separate geographic combatant commands. We remain committed to defeating Daesh, committed to our allies and partners, and committed to global security, Grady added.

Previously, the George H.W. Bush Strike Group was deployed in the Navy's 5th Fleet area of command in the Persian Gulf. Now the group will handle the area of operations previously administered by the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group. The previous strike group deployed to the area (from June 28-July 7, 2016, and December 6-12, 2016), completed some 1,899 sorties in support of the US-led operation. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the strike group returned to Norfolk on December 30 after a seven-month deployment.

Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) is the codename for the US military's intervention against the Islamic State which began in Iraq in June 2014 and two months later in Syria. As of February 7, the US-led coalition of 68 states has conducted a total of 18,081 strikes, with 11,050 strikes in Iraq and 7,031 in Syria. The US has carried out the majority of the targeting, conducting some 14,185 strikes.

Washington under President Barack Obama's leadership has never bothered to get any approval from Damascus for the military intervention, unlike the Russian Air Force which was officially invited by the Syrian government to drive out the terrorists.

READ MORE: Americans are welcome in Syria if they come here to work with us Assad

Last week, the Syrian President Bashar Assad said US troops would be welcome in his country provided they work together with the government. At the same time, he accused the US of meddling in his countrys internal affairs and supporting the extremists who would then go on to form Islamic State.

Read the rest here:
US carrier group conducts anti-ISIS strikes in Syria & Iraq from Mediterranean - RT

Baghdadi has long been thought to be moving between Isil territory in north-eastern Syria and north-western Iraq as he looks to evade capture.

Last week, Haider al-Abadi, Iraqs prime minister, said the Iraqi government knew where the leader was, butwould not be drawn on his whereabouts.

Mr Abadi told France24 TV station that Baghdadi has few trusted aides left with so many senior leaders killed in coalition air strikes.

Hes almost alone at the moment. He doesnt have many people to trust. He is in isolation, were monitoring his movements, said Mr Abadi, adding that the Isil group chief is keeping a very low profile. His communication with other terrorists is very low. In many times, it is almost nonexistent.

In December, the United States more than doubled the bounty on the elusive Isilleaders head to $25 million (20 million).

Shortly after terrorist fighters swept across swathes of Iraq in June 2014, Baghdadi appeared at the Great Mosque of Al-Nuri to proclaim a state straddling Syria and Iraq in front of thousands of supporters.

It was the last time he is thought tohave been photographed in public.

Link:
Iraq air strikes hit meeting of Isil commanders, leaving leader Baghdadi's fate unknown - Telegraph.co.uk