NEW UPDATE OF IRAQI SITUATION ×××××××××+×××××××××××××××××××××× Jihadist fighters in Iraq seized three border crossings into Syria and Jordan and four nearby towns over the weekend, giving the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) control over much of the countrys western frontier and directly threatening the countrys main power supply. Isis can now add large swaths of the Iraqi border to a 300km stretch of land it already controls along the Euphrates river, from Mosul in the north to Saddam Husseins home town, Tikrit, which now gives the group a launching pad for potential attacks on strategic sites, including the lifeblood of Iraqs electricity generation, the Hadith dam. The gains also bring the crisis in Iraq to the doorstep of Jordan, a key ally of the United States.The latest Isis offensive comes as Iraqs polarized political blocs face a week of intense lobbying to form an inclusive government that could unite the fracturing country. The US secretary of state, John Kerry, is due in Baghdad on Monday to meet Iraqi lawmakers who had been bitterly divided before the jihadist surge, but have recently been reaching out to the US and Iran with increasing desperation.The latest Isis offensive in western Anbar province has seen the group take four towns in recent days. Iraqi officials said the militants took over the Turaibil crossing with Jordan and the Walid crossing with Syria after government forces there pulled out. Al-Qaim, a restive town on the Syrian border, fell a day earlier. The capture of the crossings follows the fall on Friday and Saturday of the towns of Rawah, Anah and Rutba. They are all in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province, where the militants have since January controlled the city of Falluja and parts of the provincial capital, Ramadi. Rutba is on the main highway from Baghdad to the two border crossings and its capture has in effect cut the Iraqi capitals main land route to Jordan. It is an artery for passengers and goods, though it has been infrequently used in recent months because of deteriorating security. Northern Iraq and neighboring states. Guardian graphics Iraqs armed forces are outgunned and ill-prepared to deal with Isis, which has rapidly gathered momentum as it has surged across eastern Syria and back into Iraq, where the earliest incarnation of the group was born a decade ago. In Baghdad, the enmity between the political factions before the Isis attack meant no consensus about a new government was likely to emerge for some time. Iraqi leaders now increasingly believe that Barack Obama is making US help conditional on their first finding a political solution that empowers disenfranchised groups, especially the countrys Sunnis. Iran, which had eclipsed the US as Iraqs main power broker in recent years, on Sunday warned Washington against sending fighter jets into the region. The countrys supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iraq needed no foreign intervention. Iran is heavily invested in the defense of Baghdad, with a prominent Iranian general, Qassim Sulaimani, in the capital to coordinate the citys defenses. Obama warned in an interview on Sunday that Isis could spread conflict to neighboring states and pose a medium- and long-term threat to the US. Were going to have to be vigilant generally, he said. Right now the problem with Isis is the fact that theyre destabilizing the country. That could spill over into some of our allies like Jordan. But I think its important for us to recognize that Isis is just one of a number of organizations that we have to stay focused on, he said, highlighting al-Qaida in Yemen and Boko Haram in west Africa among others. The president denied US inaction in Syria and Iraq had allowed the crisis to escalate. What we cant do is think that were just going to play whack-a-mole and send US troops occupying various countries wherever these organizations pop up. Were going to have to have a more focused, more targeted strategy and were going to have to partner and train local law enforcement and military to do their jobs as well. Last week Obama said he would dispatch 300 special forces to help train Iraqs army, but said they would not have a direct combat role.The increasingly grim news from Iraq fuelled fresh recriminations in Washington on Sunday, with Republicans turning on the White House and each other.Senator Rand Paul, who has resisted Republican calls for more intervention, said the US should steer clear of Syria and Iraq. Its now a jihadist wonderland in Iraq precisely because we got overinvolved, not because we had too little involvement, he told CNN. Why should Americans fight in Iraq if the Iraqi army was unwilling to do so, he said? Paul, who may seek the partys presidential nomination in 2016, did not rule out helping Shia forces, but said the Sunni extremists advancing on Baghdad, posed no immediate threat to the US. I dont believe Isis is in the middle of a fight right now, thinking, Hmm, we should send intercontinental missiles to America? Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat chairwoman of the senate intelligence committee, defended Obamas thoughtful handling of the crisis, but admitted the intelligence community failed to anticipate the Islamic extremists break through.You either has to have the technical means up in the sky or in other places or you have to have assets – people who will give you human intelligence, she told CNN. This is a different culture. Its very difficult to pierce. The piercing intelligence-wise in terms of humans has been very difficult all along. “Iraq’s existence as a state was imperiled, Feinstein went on. Candidly, I dont know what the US contingency plan is for a complete takeover of Syria and Iraq, she said. I do know what were on the foot of is a major Sunni-Shiite war. Due of above every foreigners have to think and move from there to safe place, I wanna be advice all of u nepalese please do not take risk just try to move from thare to safe place, who are under the bagdad conrol goverment of iraq. ........
Posted on: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 09:41:55 +0000
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