Post-Withdrawal Iraq

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Thu May 19, 2016 6:28 pm

Gates rips White House 'semantic backflips' on combat:

Politico wrote:Former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Robert Gates tore into the White House on Thursday for its refusal to describe the ongoing U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Syria as a "combat mission."

"I think that it is incredibly unfortunate not to speak openly about what's going on," Gates told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

"American troops are in action. They are being killed. They are in combat," said the former defense secretary, who served under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Gates assailed "the semantic backflips to avoid using the term combat" as "a disservice to those out there putting their lives on the line."

"I have a feeling it's got everything to do with the politics of — we've ended combat operations in Iraq. It's over. We're done. We're out of there," Gates said. "We're all of a sudden back there."

Even Defense Secretary Ash Carter has acknowledged that the "troops are in combat," Gates said.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 5:11 pm

NYT

President Obama has authorized sending an additional 600 American troops to Iraq to assist Iraqi forces in the looming battle to take back the city of Mosul from the Islamic State, United States officials said on Wednesday.

The announcement means that there will soon be 5,000 American troops in Iraq, seven years after the Obama administration withdrew all American troops from the country. Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has criticized both Mr. Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, for that decision.

Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, traveling in New Mexico, said the additional troops would help with logistics as well as providing intelligence for Iraqi security forces in the fight for Mosul. Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that Iraqi forces would be ready to retake the city by early October.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Thu Oct 13, 2016 10:25 am

Battle for Mosul: A row between Turkey and Iraq could derail the offensive

Usually it's Western states that bear the brunt of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's anger, with tirades about their alleged support for terrorism, interference in Turkish affairs, or love of gold and cheap labour in the Muslim world. But this week, his target shifted.

"The Iraqi prime minister - know your place!" President Erdogan told Islamic leaders. "You are not at my level… the army of the Turkish republic has not lost such standing as to receive instructions from you," he added. "You should know that we will do what we want to do."

The cause of the escalating row is the presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq. Around 2,000 Turks have been in the Bashiqa military camp since last year, training Sunni fighters and Iraqi Kurdish forces, known as Peshmerga, for the impending operation to retake the city of Mosul from the so-called Islamic State.

Their presence was with the consent of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of northern Iraq, but apparently not of Baghdad. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi has called them an "occupying force", risking "a regional war". Both Ankara and Baghdad have withdrawn ambassadors for consultation.

The row threatens not only Turkey's participation in the Mosul operation but the offensive itself, with the Iraqi government locked in an explosive dispute with a key member of the anti-IS coalition. The United States says that all military activities in Iraq should be undertaken with the full coordination and consent of the Iraqi government.

"The US does not want a separate fight to distract it from the battle against IS," says Metin Gurcan, a military analyst and columnist for Al-Monitor. "The US line is: 'if Turkey wants to fight against IS in Iraq, it needs to come under our roof'. It's trying to prevent Turkey from playing a new game."

So what is Turkey's game? At its heart is the desire by Turkey, a major Sunni power, not to lose its influence over Mosul, which has a large ethnic Turkmen population, most of whom are Sunni. Ankara has had patchy relations with the Shia-led government of Haider Al-Abadi and bristles at the notion that Shia militias could take part in the Mosul offensive, with the Turkish prime minister warning against "any forceful change in the demographic composition of the region".

Turkey sees the PKK Kurdish militants in Turkey and the Kurdish militia in Syria as terrorists but has strong relations with the Iraqi Kurdish government, not least through oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan through Turkey. Ankara is determined to keep forces allied to the PKK out of the Mosul operation.

"Ankara is trying to create a Sunni power centre in northern Iraq - a sort of 'Sunnistan' - through the KRG and Sunni tribes," says Metin Gurcan, "fighting for local dominance with sub-national armed actors. But it's playing in a room full of glass and with two elephants: the US and Russia. Turkey must work with the US as a Nato member. But on a political and diplomatic level, it's trying to align with Russia - and that creates a dangerous split."

In Ankara's rhetoric there is, as ever, much for domestic consumption. A firebrand president, he is known for using nationalist, confrontational talk to rally his core supporters, particularly in the patriotic fervour since July's attempted coup. It's unlikely that threats will translate into action, and Turkey will probably play a role in the Mosul offensive - at least providing air cover.

But the boiling tension between the two neighbours is distracting the focus.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu Oct 13, 2016 6:42 pm

In the general neighborhood, this does not sound good.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/10/13 ... fire.html#

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Thu Oct 13, 2016 7:17 pm

LordMortis wrote:In the general neighborhood, this does not sound good.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/10/13 ... fire.html#

AFAIK, the civil war in Yemen is a massive proxy fight between the Saudis and Iran and has been ongoing for years.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Sun Oct 16, 2016 11:10 pm

The battle to liberate Mosul has begun.

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Monday launched a battle to liberate the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State in its most ambitious campaign since U.S. forces left five years ago, and the United States predicted the militant group would suffer "a lasting defeat."

"I announce today the start of the heroic operations to free you from the terror and the oppression of Daesh," Abadi said in a speech on state TV, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

"We will meet soon on the ground of Mosul to celebrate liberation and your salvation," he said, surrounded by the armed forces' top commanders.

Qatar-based al-Jazeera television aired video of what it said was a bombardment of Mosul that started after Abadi's speech, showing rockets and bursts of tracer bullets across the night sky and loud sounds of gunfire.

The assault on Mosul, with a population of 1.5 million, is backed by the U.S.-led coalition, which is providing air and ground support.

The offensive could be one of the biggest military operations in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and the biggest mounted by the Iraqi government since U.S. military forces withdrew in 2011.

About 30,000 troops were expected to take part from the Iraqi army, Kurdish Peshmerga militia and Sunni tribal fighters, while estimates of Islamic State forces in the city range from 4,000 to 8,000.

"This is a decisive moment in the campaign to deliver ISIL a lasting defeat," U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement, using an acronym for Islamic State.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 1:49 am

It's generally understood that the patchwork of militias will assume occupation duties when the fight is over, so the disposition of forces was more political than military. Figuring out who gets to control what parts of the city, and reconciling that with actual tactics, is what took so long to pull this invasion together.

If Iraq has taught us anything, it's that winning the occupation matters as much as winning the invasion.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 1:17 pm

Rough order of battle and a look at the current front lines:
http://understandingwar.org/backgrounde ... aign-mosul

Will mostly be taking all the outlying towns for quite a while before they start actually pushing into the city itself. Most timetables seem to think it'll be November before they start making any serious headway.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Oct 21, 2016 1:20 pm

Kraken wrote:If Iraq has taught us anything, it's that winning the occupation matters as much as winning the invasion.

Preatus was on PBS Newshour saying the exact same thing. He listed off all of the factions that need be happy with an exiling ISIS while not pissing off the Sunis and the list was crazy long detailing geographies religions sub geographies and sub religions.

It was like saying in order to keep peace in along the Mississipi Delta, we have to make sure to appease the cultural demands of South African Americans, Sudan Americans, Iraqi Americans, Irany Americans, Irish Americans, Italian Americans, German Americans, Australian Americans, The Chocktaw, The Chickasaw as well as each one of those people may separately be Catholics, Baptists, Nazarene, Jews, Muslims, agnostics, or atheist. Failure to do so will inevitably mean violent insurrection.

It's a wonder we, as a species, haven't gone *boom* yet.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri Oct 21, 2016 1:31 pm

LordMortis wrote:
Kraken wrote:If Iraq has taught us anything, it's that winning the occupation matters as much as winning the invasion.
Preatus was on PBS Newshour saying the exact same thing. He listed off all of the factions that need be happy with an exiling ISIS while not pissing off the Sunis and the list was crazy long detailing geographies religions sub geographies and sub religions.

It was like saying in order to keep peace in along the Mississipi Delta, we have to make sure to appease the cultural demands of South African Americans, Sudan Americans, Iraqi Americans, Irany Americans, Irish Americans, Italian Americans, German Americans, Australian Americans, The Chocktaw, The Chickasaw as well as each one of those people may separately be Catholics, Baptists, Nazarene, Jews, Muslims, agnostics, or atheist. Failure to do so will inevitably mean violent insurrection.

It's a wonder we, as a species, haven't gone *boom* yet.

One man's liberator is six other men's invader.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Oct 21, 2016 1:56 pm

And now you have violent protests from the Cajuns from disenfranchising them from representation.

We've gone boom plenty of times. It's just that we're much better at creating life than destroying it. And, at times, the violent explosions are the results of, indirectly, too much of the creation.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Oct 21, 2016 2:06 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:And now you have violent protests from the Cajuns from disenfranchising them from representation.

Somehow I don't doubt it. I don't know how it gets done. And it's hard to empathize with how it gets done as white mutt man living in the midwestern United States with no ties to religion beyond family.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Mon Nov 07, 2016 2:20 pm

Bulletproof BMW Used to Rescue Dozens During ISIS Attack

In the ongoing war against ISIS in the Middle East, one Kurdish Peshmerga fighter put his life—and his BMW—on the line to protect a city against a terrorist attack.

Using an early-'90s armored BMW he purchased four months prior to the October 21 attack, a Peshmerga soldier named Ako Rahman rescued dozens of citizens wounded or trapped by snipers in Kirkuk—a city in the Kurdish controlled region of Iraq.

"After we arrived at the scene, we saw many wounded individuals among the security forces and civilians and no one was able to approach them due to the IS snipers. Therefore we decided to help those wounded people since bullets could not penetrate my car," Rahman told Kurdish news outlet BasNews.

Over the course of the attack, which lasted several days, Rahman used his bulletproof sedan to transport 70 injured people to the hospital, encountering gunfire throughout the mission.

“There are marks from 50 to 60 bullets on the body of my car and many of them hit the front and the windshield of the car," Rahman told Kurdish news outlet Rudaw.

Governor Dr. Najmaldin Karim presented the Peshmerga fighter with an award of 500,000 Iraqi dinars ($385) on November 1. BMW reportedly wanted to honor Rahman a bit more for his bravery and sacrifice. The German auto manufacturer offered him a brand new BMW in exchange for the bullet ridden E32, which it planned on displaying on its corporate campus. He declined the offer and instead it would be given to Sulaymaniyah, a local Kurdish museum.

Freyland · Post by **Freyland** » Sat Apr 21, 2018 4:09 pm

Indeed, the best burkas come from Ralph Lauren.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon May 14, 2018 11:18 am

Muqtada al-Sadr to be in charge?

Muqtada al-Sadr cobbled together a coalition between his Shiite Sadrist movement under the Jawabna (The Answer) slogan and the Communist Party of Iraq to achieve an unexpected preliminary Iraqi parliamentary election victory for Baghdad province early Monday morning.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Mon May 14, 2018 9:44 pm

It seems like he doesn't like the US, but also pragmatic, and he's also anti-Iranian interference.

Sadr is a ferocious critic of American policies in the Middle East, and his unexpected electoral haul immediately calls into question the continuing presence of U.S. troops in Iraq. But his spokesman said Sadr supports honoring commitments between Iraq and the United States concerning the training of Iraq’s security forces and weapons purchases as long as they serve Iraq’s interests and there “is no interference on the sovereignty of Iraq.”

But Sadr has grown increasingly pragmatic over the years and formed a cross-sectarian electoral alliance emphasizing Iraqi nationalism over loyalty to Iranian clerics and American military and political backing. He has also broken ranks with Iraq’s Shiite establishment by denouncing Iran’s involvement in Syria’s civil war and its bid for expanded influence in Iraq.

“He’s the only politician with a clear vision for Iraq,” said a Western diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity to give a frank assessment of Sadr. “Iraq first, eradicate corruption, and a technocratic government.”

Sadr is distrusted by both the United States and Iran for his active opposition to both countries. He has balked, for instance, at Iran’s efforts to extend its influence through military assistance and political backing of hard-line Shiite politicians. Like the United States, Iran will now also have to recalibrate how to advance its interests in Iraq, where Sadr’s independence has made him attractive to some of Iran’s rivals in the Arab world.

link

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Oct 22, 2019 3:29 pm

AP

U.S. troops leaving Syria and heading to neighboring Iraq do not have permission to stay in the country, Iraq’s military said Tuesday as American forces continued to pull out of northern Syria after Turkey’s invasion of the border region.

The statement appears to contradict U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who has said that under the current plan, all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the military would continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence in the region.
...
An Iraqi official said his government has told the Americans that they will allow the U.S. forces to pass through, but not to stay.
...
Earlier this year, Trump angered Iraqi politicians and Iranian-backed factions by arguing he would keep U.S. troops in Iraq and use it as a base to strike Islamic State group targets inside Syria as needed. In February, he infuriated Iraqi leaders when he said U.S. troops should stay in Iraq to monitor neighboring Iran.
...
The statement by the Iraqi military, however, said that all American troops that withdrew from Syria have permission to enter northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and then from there to be relocated out of Iraq.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 11:29 am

CNN

Protesters attacked the US Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, scaling the walls and forcing the gates of the compound, as hundreds demonstrated against American airstrikes on an Iran-backed militia group in Iraq.

Two sources at the demonstration witnessed the attempt to break into the premises adding that security personnel fired tear gas to repel the attack. Video footage shows demonstrators smashing windows, burning items outside and throwing rocks over the walls.
...
It is not clear how many people are inside the embassy, but it is the US' largest diplomatic mission in the world, with around 16,000 staff. The compound covers around 100 acres, around the same size as the Vatican City.

The pro-Iranian demonstrators were mostly from Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), a coalition of predominantly Shiite militias. Three leaders of powerful militia groups were also seen at the protest, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who heads the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah, targeted by the American strikes on Sunday.

The strikes and protests come at a time of high tensions between the US and Iran, and have stoked fears of a new proxy war in the Middle East.

The US carried out five airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on facilities controlled by Kataib Hezbollah, killing at least 25 people killed and wounding 51, in the first significant US military response to Kataib Hezbollah's weeks of deadly rocket attacks on US-Iraqi targets.

US officials said the strikes were carried out with F-15 Strike Eagle fighter planes and targeted weapons storage facilities and command and control locations used by Kataib Hezbollah. The Pentagon said the locations had been used "to plan and execute attacks" on joint US-Iraq forces.

Drazzil · Post by **Drazzil** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 6:01 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Tue Dec 31, 2019 11:29 am CNN

Protesters attacked the US Embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, scaling the walls and forcing the gates of the compound, as hundreds demonstrated against American airstrikes on an Iran-backed militia group in Iraq.

Two sources at the demonstration witnessed the attempt to break into the premises adding that security personnel fired tear gas to repel the attack. Video footage shows demonstrators smashing windows, burning items outside and throwing rocks over the walls.
...
It is not clear how many people are inside the embassy, but it is the US' largest diplomatic mission in the world, with around 16,000 staff. The compound covers around 100 acres, around the same size as the Vatican City.

The pro-Iranian demonstrators were mostly from Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), a coalition of predominantly Shiite militias. Three leaders of powerful militia groups were also seen at the protest, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who heads the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah, targeted by the American strikes on Sunday.

The strikes and protests come at a time of high tensions between the US and Iran, and have stoked fears of a new proxy war in the Middle East.

The US carried out five airstrikes in Iraq and Syria on facilities controlled by Kataib Hezbollah, killing at least 25 people killed and wounding 51, in the first significant US military response to Kataib Hezbollah's weeks of deadly rocket attacks on US-Iraqi targets.

US officials said the strikes were carried out with F-15 Strike Eagle fighter planes and targeted weapons storage facilities and command and control locations used by Kataib Hezbollah. The Pentagon said the locations had been used "to plan and execute attacks" on joint US-Iraq forces.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 6:14 pm

"They will greet us as liberators."

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 7:38 pm

Luckily the State Department is in good working shape and the President is a competent stable genius.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Dec 31, 2019 7:53 pm

Wasn't today his 12th straight day spent golfing? Everything is fine.

EDIT: I guess someone updated him once he left the course.

....Iran will be held fully responsible for lives lost, or damage incurred, at any of our facilities. They will pay a very BIG PRICE! This is not a Warning, it is a Threat. Happy New Year!

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Wed Jan 01, 2020 10:08 am

The "BIG PRICE" shows that he means business!

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Wed Jan 01, 2020 10:19 am

Pretty sure that the price is so big, the words themselves also needed to be inflated.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Wed Jan 01, 2020 10:22 am

Also, isn’t the really cool thing to say, “and that’s not a threat, it’s a promise!”, or something like that?

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed Jan 01, 2020 12:10 pm

Unagi wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 10:22 am Also, isn’t the really cool thing to say, “and that’s not a threat, it’s a promise!”, or something like that?

Yeah, he got that backwards, but by now everyone already knows he's a moron.

As I see it, the danger here is if the dotard-in-chief's zeal to avoid another Benghazi leads to an overreaction that escalates into a full-scale proxy war with Iran (something Tehran's been trying to provoke for months now). Protecting our people with appropriate force calls for finesse, and IDK who in the WH has any.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Wed Jan 01, 2020 5:16 pm

Unagi wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 10:22 am Also, isn’t the really cool thing to say, “and that’s not a threat, it’s a promise!”, or something like that?

Bad guys threaten. Good guys warn.

He is correct.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 10:26 am

I’m going to have to push back here.

While Trump is certainly trying to upgrade his nice guy warning into a bad guy threat, as you describe... There isn’t a tough guy phrase that says “That’s not a warning, it’s a threat!”

It’s when a tough guy is asked for clarity, “Is that a threat?!”
He say’s: “No, that’s not a threat, it’s a promise!” Or “No, it’s a Fact!”

Just sayin’. Google it

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:00 pm

Withdraw now? In an election year?

The Iraqi government said at least three rockets hit the Baghdad International Airport on Friday, causing multiple casualties, the Associated Press reports. The rockets landed near the cargo hall, setting two cars on fire. A U.S. official said there are no reports of American casualties.

The missile attack comes after Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the U.S. military will be ready if Iran and its allies plan new attacks, like the one this week at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. More than 700 Army paratroopers are headed to Kuwait, as many as 5,000 more paratroopers and Marines are expected to be sent to the Persian Gulf in the coming days.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:35 pm

That attack is interesting, given the notable casualty:

Baghdad airport rocket attack hits Iraqi paramilitaries

A number of rockets have struck near Baghdad airport in Iraq.

Iraqi security sources said at least eight people had died in the strike, with two cars also destroyed in the attack.

The Popular Mobilisation Forces, an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia, announced that one of its top officials had been killed.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, and details are still emerging.

The strike comes days after protesters surrounded the US embassy in Baghdad, clashing with US forces at the scene.

US defence secretary Mark Esper said late on Thursday that the US would not accept attacks against its personnel in the region, blaming Iran for the violence at the embassy.

"Attacks against us will be met with responses in the time, manner, and place of our choosing," a statement read. "We urge the Iranian regime to end their malign activities."

Roman · Post by **Roman** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 10:17 pm

looks like one of the dead was a high ranking Iranian general: https://www.foxnews.com/world/rockets-b ... s-reported

Interesting times.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 11:06 pm

So we just publicly assassinated a high level government/military leader of a county that we're not at war with? That's what we do now?

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 11:16 pm

Smoove_B wrote:So we just publicly assassinated a high level government/military leader of a county that we're not at war with? That's what we do now?

Yep, and without Congress weighing in. We're just that cool.

Roman · Post by **Roman** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 11:34 pm

Marco Rubio says it was all legal:

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Jan 02, 2020 11:41 pm

Just so we're clear Marco, "responding to Iran" apparently means "assassinating a government / military officer at a public airport". I have to believe American officials worldwide are looking to come home now as this feels like it could be open season on anyone abroad now.

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:13 am

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:28 am

It's probably not great that at this point I'm relying on the restraint of the Iranian government to prevent this from getting much worse.

Kurth · Post by **Kurth** » Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:53 am

El Guapo wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:28 am It's probably not great that at this point I'm relying on the restraint of the Iranian government to prevent this from getting much worse.

"Not great" is a pretty big understatement there, I think. There is no chance Iran does not respond in some fashion, and that response will not be characterized by restraint. I'm worried.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Jan 03, 2020 1:29 am

Why is Iraq allowing Iranians in their country like this? And why is the crowd of protesters Iranian? Does Iran simply outright own Iraq after everything the US did to control it ?

Victoria Raverna · Post by **Victoria Raverna** » Fri Jan 03, 2020 3:23 am

Daehawk wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2020 1:29 am Why is Iraq allowing Iranians in their country like this? And why is the crowd of protesters Iranian? Does Iran simply outright own Iraq after everything the US did to control it ?

The protestors are not Iranians. They're pro-Iran Iraqi.