| Information |  | |
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
| ||
| Information | | |
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
| ||
10Sep14
Kerry in Iraq to congratulate new premier, build alliance against Islamic State
Secretary of State John F. Kerry came to Iraq on Wednesday to congratulate a new Iraq government on which the United States is basing much of its emerging strategy to counter Islamic State militants.
Kerry met with new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other senior officials. His visit is timed to precede President Obama's speech Wednesday evening laying out a multi-pronged plan to confront militants who have seized large swaths of Iraqi and Syrian territory with stunning speed and battlefield prowess.
Abadi told Kerry that the threat from Islamic State militants is growing.
"It's mobilizing an international network," drawing funding and foreign fighters to their cause, Abadi said following a meeting with Kerry.
"We are fighting these people," Abadi said. "They are a challenge to the whole region, to the international community." He appealed for more and immediate international help.
"This cancer is threatening the whole region, and we have the resolution to fight," Abadi continued.
Abadi told Kerry that Iraq's ability to fight the militants is limited since its forces cannot cross the Syrian border. Others must do that job, Abadi said, although he did not specifically call for U.S. airstrikes inside Syria.
The Obama administration is expected to launch such assaults later but is focused first on stopping the militant march in Iraq.
Syria has said it would consider any U.S. military action inside its borders to be a hostile act.
Meeting later with new Iraqi President F0uad Massoum, Kerry said Obama's speech and the strategy it will outline are tied to Iraq's political progress.
"There was no way that this strategy could be implemented without the government formation taking place," Kerry said.
Alluding to America's long years of war and billions of dollars in investment in Iraq, Kerry said those who had made great sacrifices to help Iraq throw off dictatorship would be "gratified" by the new government.
Kerry congratulated Abadi warmly and praised his early work to revamp the cabinet and address ways to more equitably share oil revenues across the country, a long-standing U.S. demand that went unmet by Abadi's predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki.
"We're very encouraged by the comments you've made here today and by your commitment to do this," Kerry said. "I'm grateful to you, and as I told you the president will lay out tonight a more detailed description of exactly what the United States is prepared to do together with many other countries" to defeat the Islamic State.
Kerry also praised Abadi's plans to reinvigorate the Iraqi military to better fight the militants. U.S. advisers were shocked and disappointed by the poor performance of Iraqi units as the militants easily took towns and cities across northern Iraq and along the long border with Syria.
The Obama administration is relieved that Abadi edged out Maliki, who never heeded Washington's warnings that he must share power with Sunnis and Kurds or risk his country's disintegration. Abadi has pledged to govern with genuine inclusivity, though many international observers and Iraqi Sunni leaders have doubts. Both Abadi and Maliki are members of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority.
The United States is already conducting airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq at the request of the Baghdad government. Washington is edging toward a broader assault, as Obama will discuss later Wednesday, but insists it is not a return to an American war in the Middle East.
The new Iraq government is a cornerstone of the strategy, as American officials say they finally have a partner who can marshal Sunni support and look beyond his own narrow sectarian interests.
The U.S. plan relies on that broader base of support as a firmer foundation for Iraq to fight the militants, with help from a coalition of nations that Kerry will help line up during stops this week in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.
Washington has conditioned some military aid and other support on an inclusive government, and Obama is expected to announce additional help for the new government Wednesday.
Washington is encouraged by Abadi's plan to loosen the central Shiite-led Baghdad government's hold on security matters, long an irritant in Sunni areas. Some expanded international help for the new government is expected to further his plan to establish Iraqi national guard forces that answer to provincial governors.
"The visit comes under circumstances in which there are real opportunities," a senior State Department official said, citing "a real shake-up in the cabinet" and a chance for progress on key issues that have bedeviled Iraqi leaders for the past eight years.
The official added that the Obama administration is not naive about the challenges for Abadi or the new coalition supporting him.
"This is going to be extremely, extremely difficult. The problems that are confronting Iraq are incredibly challenging," the official said.
[Source: By Anne Gearan, The Washington Post, Baghdad, 10Sep14]
 | This document has been published on 17Sep14 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. |