International Reaction
1. U.S. and Iran Shares Same Worry in ISIS
Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Shiite Muslim leader Ammar al-Hakim, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, in late June 2014 in Baghdad.
The U.S. and Iran have expressed few common views in recent days about how to end the security crisis in Iraq. But one area where there’s a convergence between Washington and Tehran is their concern about the Iraqi city of Samarra.
Samarra is a Sunni-dominated metropolis about 80 miles north of Baghdad that hosts some of the world’s most important Shiite shrines, including the al-Askari Mosque. Its complex contains the tombs of two of Shiite Islam’s most important holy men.
U.S. and Iranian officials are both voicing concerns that al-Askaria could be targeted again by the Sunni militia, the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham, or ISIS, in a bid to spark another sectarian war in Iraq. ISIS has taken over large swathes of western Iraq in recent weeks and has summarily executed Shiites soldiers and civilians.
The U.S. and Iran have expressed few common views in recent days about how to end the security crisis in Iraq. But one area where there’s a convergence between Washington and Tehran is their concern about the Iraqi city of Samarra.
Samarra is a Sunni-dominated metropolis about 80 miles north of Baghdad that hosts some of the world’s most important Shiite shrines, including the al-Askari Mosque. Its complex contains the tombs of two of Shiite Islam’s most important holy men.
U.S. and Iranian officials are both voicing concerns that al-Askaria could be targeted again by the Sunni militia, the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham, or ISIS, in a bid to spark another sectarian war in Iraq. ISIS has taken over large swathes of western Iraq in recent weeks and has summarily executed Shiites soldiers and civilians.
2. U.S. Urges International Cooperation in the U.N. in Confronting ISIS
President Obama urged broad international cooperation in late September 2014 in confronting the Islamic State and other terror groups, vowing during an address to the U.N. General Assembly to defeat what he described as the “network of death.”
Speaking as the U.S. launches an expanded military campaign against the Islamic State, Obama said nations are staring into the “heart of darkness” with the violence in Iraq and Syria driven by the terror group. He urged nations to “reject the cancer of violent extremism,” and said defeating the Islamic State, or ISIS, is the first step. “The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force. So the United States of America will work with a broad coalition to dismantle this network of death,” Obama declared. |
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3. Syria Supports Anti-ISIS Global Effort as Long as it Preserves Civilian's Lives and Sovereignty
Deputy Prime Minister of Syria Walid AI-Moualem speaks at the 69th United Nations General Assembly on September 29,2014 in New York City.
Syria took the stand at the UN on Monday announcing its support for the global struggle against Islamic State (IS) militants and warning of the severe danger the jihadists pose. However Syria has warned that strikes could violate its sovereignty.
“ISIS and Nusra [front] and the rest of the Al-Qaeda affiliates will not be limited within the borders of Syria and Iraq but will spread to every spot that it can reach, starting with Europe and America,” Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. While he steered clear of outright condemning the US airstrikes within Syria’s borders, he did offer a warning that any military action while support for militants continued could lead to the development of a situation in which “international community will not exit in decades”. “The Syrian Arab Republic reiterates that it stands with any international effort aimed at fighting and combating terrorism, and stresses that this must be done in full respect of the lives of innocent civilians and within the frame of full respect of national sovereignty, and in conformity with international conventions,” Moualem said.
Syria took the stand at the UN on Monday announcing its support for the global struggle against Islamic State (IS) militants and warning of the severe danger the jihadists pose. However Syria has warned that strikes could violate its sovereignty.
“ISIS and Nusra [front] and the rest of the Al-Qaeda affiliates will not be limited within the borders of Syria and Iraq but will spread to every spot that it can reach, starting with Europe and America,” Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said at the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. While he steered clear of outright condemning the US airstrikes within Syria’s borders, he did offer a warning that any military action while support for militants continued could lead to the development of a situation in which “international community will not exit in decades”. “The Syrian Arab Republic reiterates that it stands with any international effort aimed at fighting and combating terrorism, and stresses that this must be done in full respect of the lives of innocent civilians and within the frame of full respect of national sovereignty, and in conformity with international conventions,” Moualem said.
4. Anti-ISIS Coalition - the Joining Hand of International Military Plan
Persian Gulf petrodollar states have agreed to support Washington’s "no-boots-on-the-ground" aerial bombardment of Iraq and Syria. The agreement to "depend" on the Americans to “contain” their offspring ISIS came after President Obama asked the regional allies to support another millennia of killing to strengthen America’s tenuous grip on global power - with little care for borders, international law, and national sovereignty.
For all appearance, the enlisting of the petrodollar states ensures that money is not going to be a problem for the bankrupt War Party in this open-ended war. For all its bellicose rhetoric, though, Obama’s plan is at best more of a strategy to contain ISIS rather than eradicate it.
His problem is that the US does not have reliable partners. At this point it isn’t even clear any of them plans to do anything other than continue to bankroll ISIS and other “moderate” terrorists, which they have been doing with or without the “coalition” anyhow. In addition, the NATO allies are no more inclined to send troops, because promises of no boots on the ground notwithstanding, Obama’s war footprint is large and expanding.
Curiously, however, Washington and allies secretly and openly coordinate direct and indirect support for ISIS and other terrorist groups with contradictory ambitions to re-establish military presence, dominate regional oil resources, roll back Iran, Lebanon and Syria, defend an expansionist Israel, and in pursuit of these, re-draw the map of the Middle East to suit their geopolitical objectives.
For all appearance, the enlisting of the petrodollar states ensures that money is not going to be a problem for the bankrupt War Party in this open-ended war. For all its bellicose rhetoric, though, Obama’s plan is at best more of a strategy to contain ISIS rather than eradicate it.
His problem is that the US does not have reliable partners. At this point it isn’t even clear any of them plans to do anything other than continue to bankroll ISIS and other “moderate” terrorists, which they have been doing with or without the “coalition” anyhow. In addition, the NATO allies are no more inclined to send troops, because promises of no boots on the ground notwithstanding, Obama’s war footprint is large and expanding.
Curiously, however, Washington and allies secretly and openly coordinate direct and indirect support for ISIS and other terrorist groups with contradictory ambitions to re-establish military presence, dominate regional oil resources, roll back Iran, Lebanon and Syria, defend an expansionist Israel, and in pursuit of these, re-draw the map of the Middle East to suit their geopolitical objectives.