WASHINGTON DC – On Sunday, US Secretary of State John Kerry pledged American support for Iraq in its fight against “terrorist groups.” The US has promised to expedite the delivery of military hardware, such as “Hellfire” missiles and drones to Iraq, but has ruled out sending combat troops.
"The support... is giving us the confidence that we are moving on the right course and that the result will be clear and decisive: Uprooting this corrupt organization," said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in a televised speech on Wednesday. “We will continue this fight because we believe that al-Qaeda and its allies represent evil," he added.
Sarhang Hamasaeed, a Senior Program Officer at the US Institute of Peace (USIP), told Rudaw that Iraq is currently going through tough times, given the level of violence and resurgence of al-Qaida-affiliated groups.
“There is an interest of a number of fractures, ranging from political differences on how to govern Iraq and run its institutions, to a limited or lack of capacity on the side of Iraqi security forces to handle the volume of the security threat the country faces,” said Hamasaeed. “This is definitely compounded with the Syrian conflict spillover,” he added.
He said the ease of arms supplies and militant movements between Syria and Iraq is fueling the fight on both sides.
“Iraqi security forces lack the necessary training and equipment to protect the border and fight the insurgency. This factor is nothing to be ashamed of; it’s just the reality of the lack of capability,” Hamasaeed said.
He added that Maliki alone cannot be blamed for all that is happening in Iraq today.
“Differences in political views and how to govern Iraq is a source of the problem, but this doesn’t mean that Maliki is the sole person responsible for deteriorating the political and security situations,” according to Hamasaeed.
He believes that the al-Qaida threat is a real one and that in the past it has been downplayed. However, he said, “It takes more than weapons to address the issue of al-Qaida: Iraq needs a wider approach to deal with security problem.”
“When the US delivers arms in the framework of a security agreement with Iraq, it can condition that it will not be used in certain ways. But once the weapons are delivered the responsibility lies on the Iraqi government and institutions to use it only in defense of Iraqis, not terrorizing them,” Hamasaeed said.
Ahmed Ali, a research associate at the Washington Institute, says that the al-Qaeda resurgence could be behind the deterioration of the situation in Iraq, but that in the meantime the Iraqi security forces (ISF) also “need to change strategies.”
“The ISF have to apply conciliatory measures with the population in order to win support and slow down AQI's (al-Qaeda in Iraq’s) momentum,” he said.
Ali agrees with US arms supplies to Iraq, but says it may not be wise to supply weapons unconditionally.
“This approach can backfire, since US-provided weapons can be used for political purposes. Therefore, US military assistance has to be conditioned,” he told Rudaw.
David Siegel, a professor of political science with a focus on terrorism and political institutions at Duke University in the United States, says: “Without credible power-sharing arrangements in Iraq, guaranteed by either constitutionally-mandated shared security arrangements or third-party enforcement, any delivery of military aid will only lead to more bloodshed and no long-term peace.”
Dr. Seth Jones, associate director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation in the US, thinks that the reemergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has now become a tool for al-Qaeda to pursue its agenda.
“Al-Qaeda In Iraq conducted roughly 550 attacks between June and November 2013. Most were vehicle-bomb attacks, with smaller numbers of suicide attacks,” Jones said. “The resurgence of al-Qaeda in Iraq has allowed the organization to expand its influence into neighboring Syria and, most recently, Lebanon.”
Jones, however, said that the US assists many of its allies with arms in their fight against extremist groups, but that it usually comes with conditions and rules.
