Iraq Defends Intelligence Sharing with Russia, Syria, Iran

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Baghdad needs to share intelligence with other countries, including Russia, Syria and Iran, in order to defeat the Islamic State. He made the comments today in a televised speech aired before his departure to attend the UN General Assembly. Abadi added that Iraq welcomes Russia’s “recent interest” in battling ISIL. (AP, 28 September)

Abadi said he will continue to work closely with the U.S.-led coalition, saying Iraq needs “all the world’s intelligence” and efforts against the Islamic State.

File photo: Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (blogs.lse.ac.uk)

Sistani: Iraq Could Face ‘Partition’ without Reform

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of Iraqi Shias, warned on Thursday that Iraq could face “partition” and other dire consequences if real reform is not carried out.

“Today, if true reform is not realized by fighting corruption without mercy and realizing social justice on different levels, it is expected that circumstances will become worst that before, Sistani said in a written statement. “(Iraq) could be dragged to… partition and the like, God forbid.” (AFP, 20 August)

Without rampant corruption, especially in the security forces, and misuse of power by top officials, “the Daesh terrorist organization would not have been able to control a large part of the territory of Iraq,” Sistani added, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL.

Many Iraqi politicians, Sistani said, “did not take the overall interests of the Iraqi people into consideration, and were instead concerned with their personal interests, and factional, sectarian and ethnic concerns.” (AFP, 20 August)

Even with popular support and Grand Ayatollah Sistani’s backing, the entrenched nature of corruption and the fact parties across the political spectrum benefit from it make changes recently proposed by Prime Minister Abadi extremely difficult, AFP said.

File photo: Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of Iraqi Shias (AFP)

Iraq PM Calls for Reforms

Reacting to Popular Protests

 

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi today announced a wide-ranging government reform plan only two days after massive anti-corruption protests took place in Baghdad, Basra, and other cities. The cabinet immediately approved the plan, which is sent to the parliament for final approval. The list of reforms, published in prime minister’s Facebook page today, includes the following: (World Press, 9 August)

• Dissolving the positions of Vice Presidents and Deputy Prime Ministers immediately. (Note: this line item would involve sacking of Nouri al-Maliki and others.)

• Establishment of a High Commission to fight corruption and reopen old and current corruption cases; as well as appointing judges to oversee those cases.

• Reassigning all security forces to the Ministry of Defense to be trained to defend the country’s frontiers.

• Rescinding of all (sectarian and party) quotas allocated to high government positions. The PM will form a committee to oversee the sacking of unqualified personnel and their merit-based replacement.

• Merging ministries and institutions to raise efficiency and cut costs.

Photo credit: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (World Press)

Iraqis Take to Streets Protesting Rampant Corruption and Lack of Services

Tens of thousands of Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad, Basra and several other southern cities on Friday to protest the financial and administrative corruption rampant in Iraqi ministries and lack of the basic services, like the electricity, as the temperatures exceeded 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit), The Middle East Eye reported.

Today’s demonstrations, the second Friday of protests, took place hours after Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of the Iraqi Shias, called on Iraqi prime minister to fight corruption and launch a campaign to reform the government.

“The country is facing complicated economic problems and a tremendous lack of services. All of this is a result of financial and administrative corruption which has existed in various governmental departments and institutions for years,” said Ahmad al-Safy, Sistani’s representative in a televised Friday prayer from Karbala. (Middle East Eye, 7 August)

“The prime minister is the top executive official of the counry… He is supposed to show more courage and resolve in regards to steps toward reformation… He must hit with an iron fist whoever is tampering with public money, and work to end unaccepted privileges which are granted to our officials,” Safy added.

In Baghdad, security was very tight and the roads that led to demonstration site were blocked for miles, while anti-riot police was deployed on every street corner near the protests who gathered in central Baghdad’s Tahrir Square.

Photo credit: Tens of thousands of Iraqi demonstrators gather at Tahrir Square; Baghdad, 7 August 2015 (Twitter)

Zarif Visiting Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif today began a regional tour to solicit support for the nuclear deal and Iran’s military interventions in the region. Today, Zarif met Sheikh Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait, and his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled. Zarif left Kuwait Sunday evening for a visit to Qatar. The three-country tour will also take Zarif to Iraq.

UPDATE: Zarif arrived in Najaf, Iraq, in early hours of Monday after visiting Kuwait City and Doha on Sunday. He will conduct a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Imam Ali and will later meet with Grand Ayatollah Sistani, the spiritual leader of the Iraqi Shias, before heading to Baghdad for meetings with senior Iraqi government officials.

Photo credit: Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif with Emir of Kuwait (tasnimnews.com)

Two-Front War against ISIL for Liberation of Ramadi and Fallujah

1st Squadron of F-16s Landed in Iraq

A two-front war against ISIL has begun in Anbar province. The Iraqi security forces started their operation today. Ramadi could be the logical choice for ISF to retake, after its scandalous retreat from the city in May. The U.S. is also conducting intense airstrikes against ISIL positions in Ramadi, Reuters reported today. Simultaneously it seems, the Iran-led Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), the umbrella group of predominantly Shia militias, continued its operation to cordon off Fallujah and secure lines of communication as the first steps to recapture the city. Fallujah has been under ISIL control since January 2014.

Meanwhile, after years of preparation and training in the U.S., Iraqi pilots today landed the 1^st squadron of Iraqi F-16s in Iraq.

ISIL Pushing to Capture Iraq Refinery at Baiji

Islamic State insurgents have taken control of half Iraq’s largest oil refinery in Baiji, and have cut supply line to the government troops who are holding out inside the sprawling facility. Last November, Iraqi Security Forces broke a month-long siege of the refinery by ISIL fighters. But they returned and are now on the verge of capturing the refinery.

ISIL now controls “all the major buildings” at Baiji complex, an Iraqi officer told a reporter at McClatchy. 80 percent of the watch towers around the facility is also captured by ISIL fighters, and they have flanked government positions with “snipers and suicide bombers.” (McClatchy, 2 May)

The push by ISIL is an indication of the precarious security situation in Iraq and the fact that the security forces are spread too thin. The refinery has been shut down for a while, but the loss of the facility would be a blow to the government and a huge success for ISIL.

Meanwhile, ISIL took responsibility for late-night car bomb attacks late Saturday in the Karrada district, in the heart of Baghdad, killing at least 19 people. Police said the dead and wounded were mainly shoppers and people commemorating the death of Imam Ali, the key figure in Shia Islam. There has been a major spike in car bombs in Baghdad over the past week, leading to speculations that the insurgents have infiltrated the capital by hiding among thousands of the displaced persons fleeing the fighting in Ramadi.

File photo: Baiji Oil Refinery during its better days (The Guardian)