U.S. Launches Aerial Refueling Mission in Yemen

The U.S. military has begun aerial-refueling tanker flights to support the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker flew the first mission Tuesday night, providing fuel for a Saudi F-15 Eagle and an UAE F-16 Fighting Falcon, Pentagon said. (Military Times, 8 April)

The Pentagon has also approved limited logistical and intelligence support for the coalition that is striking at Iran-backed Huthi insurgents. U.S. Central Command has also assigned a dozen service members to a “fusion center” to work along Saudi-led coalition officers and coordinate the limited U.S. support, which includes some weapons shipments for the coalition’s air campaign, the Pentagon said. (Military Times, 8 April)

File photo: An F-15C Eagle is refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker (Wikipedia) 

U.S. Hits Islamic State Positions Around Mosul Dam - UPDATE

IS Positions in Tel Keppe and Rabia Also Hit

Reports from Iraq indicate that the United States is hitting Islamic State's positions near the strategic Mosul Dam, in largest offensive yet against the militants. U.S. warplanes reportedly began hitting the IS positions in the area at 1:15 am local time (6:30 pm EST, 22:30 GMT.)

Islamic State fighters captured the strategic dam on the Tigris on 3 August. There have been serious concerns that the IS militants could cause catastrophic flood all the way from Mosul to Baghdad and the southern cities of Iraq along the Tigris. Even if the IS did not plan to purposely cause the flood, it is widely believed that it might not have adequate technical know-how to maintain the integrity of the dam and could cause its collapse.

UPDATE: US airstrikes are not limited to Mosul Dam area. Tel Keppe and Rabia are among locations hit tonight, Peshmerga sources said. (Twitter/@zaidbenjamin)

Top photo: U.S. jets file photo  (Reuters/Al Arabiya)
Bottom photo: Mosul dam (Gettty Images-AFP/BBC)

Notes on current American airstrikes against IS forces in Iraq

By Mark Pyruz

 

File photo: USN Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet over the Persian Gulf

A collection of thoughts on the current application of U.S. airpower in the defense of Iraq:

-Drawing from public comments made in the recent past by current Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki, application of U.S. airpower in support of Iraq had been held back by the Obama administration in attempting to achieve American preferences for a new Iraqi Prime Minister. However Peshmerga setbacks and the prospect of a humanitarian disaster at Sinjar Mountain appear to have forced the Obama administration's hand, with U.S. airpower now engaging in limited airstrikes against Islamic State forces.

-Even in such a limited capacity, a small demonstration on the effectiveness of U.S. airpower in potentially rolling back an enemy offensive is now being rendered. There are a number  historical examples of this capability to draw upon, where U.S. airpower has been coupled with indigenous armed forces in successful counteroffensive operations. One such campaign took place during the Easter Offensive in Vietnam, and more recently another took place during the initial phase of Operation Enduring Freedom (from the perspective of Afghanistan's United Front, this could be considered a counteroffensive). Moreover, American military prestige is set to be reestablished in this part of the world, following less than sought-after results from ground force invasions and military occupations previously conducted in Iraq and in Afghanistan.

-Current level of force suggests a U.S. military intent to prevent further IS penetration toward sites such as Arbil and Sinjar Mountain, and the establishment of distance beyond the range of IS artillery. Actually, this can be seen as a parallel effort to that of the IRGC-QF in its direction of Shia militias in establishing defensive lines before Baghdad and the Iraqi holy cities, beyond the range of IS artillery. Thus it can be said Iranian military direction contributes towards the defense of the American embassy in the Green Zone, while American airpower contributes towards the defense of the Iranian consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan.

-As it now stands the Americans are more actively assisting the Kurds, where the Iranians are more actively supporting the Shia. These parallel efforts are being waged against a common enemy: the Islamic State, former Baath elements and their Iraqi-Sunni allies.

-Peshmerga difficulties over the past week can be seen as a setback to President Barzani's goal of an independent Kurdistan. It's possible a precondition for application of U.S. airpower in support of Iraqi Kurdistan was for Barzani to privately withdraw his stated intention of holding a referendum on independence.

-The Obama administration is open to criticism for sitting on Iraqi requests for U.S. airstrikes. Apparent Peshmerga military setbacks appear to have taken U.S. leadership by surprise, another of many surprises during the 2014 Northern Iraq Offensive. What's more, sitting on this request has further enabled the Islamic State to capture strategic hydroelectric dams, providing IS with a degree of potential leverage over much of Iraq's populated territory. 

-While it might be politically opportune to limit U.S. airstrikes to that of establishing distance zones before sites such as Arbil and Sinjar Mountain,--while attempting to render a U.S. determined political outcome in Baghdad--it makes no sense, militarily, to allow initiative to be maintained by the Islamic State and its Sunni allies.

-It should also be pointed out that whereupon the Obama administration makes the decision to apply U.S. airpower in force, in support of a genuine Iraqi counteroffensive, Islamic State forces must also be targeted in Syria. Sanctuaries for enemy forces as were experienced by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War and more recently during Operation Enduring Freedom must not be permitted. That said, the more reliable ground force partner for this adjoining theater would be the SyAA and its NDF allies. However such an alliance requires a realignment of U.S. foreign policy in synch with a revised threat assessment reflective of the new reality in Iraq and Syria.

Iran's offer of military cooperation with Iraq

Opportunities and challenges for a region in flux

By Mark Pyruz

Left: Iraq Lt. Gen. Zebari. Right: Iran Maj. Gen. Firouzabadi.

According to Xinhua News Agency:

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi said that the Islamic republic is ready to expand its military and security cooperation with Iraq, the local satellite Press TV reported on Monday.

In two separate messages to Iraqi Army's Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Babakir Zebari and Iraqi Acting Defense Minister Sadun al-Dulaymi on Sunday, Firouzabadi expressed his country's satisfaction with the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.

He said that the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq was the result of determination and resistance of the Iraqi nation and government.

"We hope the United States has learned a lesson from its nine- year occupation and humiliating defeat in Iraq and never thinks about attacking another country," he was quoted as saying.

According to the report, during a meeting with Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces commander Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour on Nov. 13 in Tehran, Zebari called for more Tehran-Baghdad military cooperation.

Iraq is facing some security challenges and needs to exchange views with Iran, which is strong in many areas including security, said Zebari.

Iran has said that the only path to the establishment of peace and security in the region is the cooperation of regional countries, without foreigners' intervention.

There is a false narrative circulated amongst certain elements of the U.S. military, punditry and media that USA General Petraeus and the so-called "surge" led to the significant reduction of violence in Iraq in the late 00s. In reality it was largely the work of an Iranian General: IRGC-QF Commander Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani. It was Suleimani that helped enable the Shia conquest of Baghdad (occurring to a large extent before the introduction of the U.S. military reinforcement) and it was Suleimani that brokered the truce between the Iraq Army and Shia militias.

IRGC-QF Commander Maj. Gen. Suleimani

It has been speculated by objective Middle East regional observers that without the soft power capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the government of Iraq would have more resembled that of the Palestinian Authority and the pliable leadership of Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas). Instead, the Iraqis could rely on the offsetting leverage provided by Iran, which was key to Iraq successfully ejecting the U.S. military from its territory. Seen in this light, Maj. Gen. Firouzabadi's remarks can be interpreted as something of a verbal "victory lap" for the Iranians.

It's interesting that Iraq Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Babakir Zebari had previously in 2010 voiced concern that his military was not ready for the security challenges posed by a U.S. military withdrawal. It appears Iraq's civilian leadership may be directing him to more closely cooperate with the military-security establishment of Iran. This is likely all the more significant as Iraq Prime Minister Maliki engages in efforts to rollback Sunni political power, such as it is, currently manifesting itself in the arrest warrant of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi.

The removal of U.S. military forces in Iraq and Iran's pivotal relationship with Iraq now afford Iran with the opportunity of a direct, overland line of communication extending clear across to the Mediterranean Sea, something not fully realized since Sassanid times. Within this context, it is easy to see why NATO is currently engaged in efforts to dislodge President Assad in Syria, not the least reason being to block Iran's greater projection toward this western direction.

Perhaps the American neoconservatives were partly right after all, when during the run-up to the Iraq War they declared "the road to Jerusalem runs through Baghdad." The part they may have gotten wrong, however, is the effective course of that road's direction.