Monday, November 2, 2015

U.S. Strategy Is Failing (Again) In Iraq



Zero Hedge: Iraq Turns On America: “Iraqi People Have Started To Feel That The US Isn't Serious About Fighting ISIS"

If you frequent these pages, you’re well aware of why the US decided to release helmet cam footage of a raid on an ISIS prison in the northern Iraqi town of Huwija.

Put simply, Baghdad has had just about enough of Washington’s “strategy” for fighting terror in the country and when PM Haider al-Abadi said he would welcome Russian airstrikes, the US panicked. Rather than try to recount the story by paraphrasing ourselves, we’ll simply include our most succinct summary of what exactly is going on in Iraq, originally published here:

Perhaps the most astounding thing about recent events in the Mid-East is the extent to which outcomes that seem far-fetched one week become reality the next.

This dynamic began back in June when Iran’s most powerful general vowed to “surprise the world” with his next move in Syria. Just weeks later, he was in Moscow (in violation of a UN travel ban) hatching a plan with Putin to launch an all-out invasion on behalf of Assad on the way to forcibly enacting a dramatic shift in the Mid-East balance of power. Before the West had a chance to react, Moscow was establishing an air base at Latakia.

As all of this unfolded we began to suggest that it would be only a matter of time before Russian airstrikes began in Iraq.


Update: Putin and Politics Are Behind Obama's Decision to Send Troops to Syria (David Rothkopf, Foreign Policy).

WNU Editor: Russia's military involvement in Syria has significantly changed the dynamics in the Middle East .... and they have done this by offering an alternative to the Americans. In the event that Russia/Iran do succeed on the ground in Syria .... even minimally .... Iraqi leaders will be under tremendous pressure to alter their alliance with the U.S..

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