Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commander Qassem Soleimani (L) stands at the frontline during offensive operations against Islamic State militants in the town of Tal Ksaiba in Salahuddin province March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Reuters: Iranian commander issued stark warning to Iraqi Kurds over Kirkuk
SULAIMANIA/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A senior Iranian military commander repeatedly warned Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq to withdraw from the oil city of Kirkuk or face an onslaught by Iraqi forces and allied Iranian-backed fighters, Kurdish officials briefed on the meetings said.
Major-General Qassem Soleimani, commander of foreign operations for Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, traveled to Iraq’s Kurdistan region to meet Kurdish leaders at least three times this month before the Baghdad government’s lightning campaign to recapture territory across the north.
The presence of Soleimani on the frontlines highlights Tehran’s heavy sway over policy in Iraq, and comes as Shi‘ite Iran seeks to win a proxy war in the Middle East with its regional rival and U.S. ally, Sunni Saudi Arabia.
Soleimani met leaders from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the two main Kurdish political parties in northern Iraq, in the city of Sulaimania the day before Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered his forces to advance on Kirkuk, according to a PUK lawmaker briefed on the meeting.
His message was clear: withdraw or risk losing Tehran as a strategic ally.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: So much for those who hoped that two years ago the spirit of the Iranian nuclear deal would result in an era of cooperation and better understanding between Iran and the rest of the Middle East. From my vantage point .... and I hate to say it to those who still support that deal .... but the Iranians are working from an entirely different agenda.
More News On The Role That Iranian Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani Is Playing In Iraq
Iranian General Helped Iraqis Seize Kirkuk From U.S. Allies -- NBC
Iranian General Reportedly Played Key Role In Swift Takeover Of Iraq's Kirkuk -- RFE
CIA Director Confirms Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Was In Kirkuk -- Daily Caller
Why is Iranian master terrorist Qassem Soleimani distributing photos of himself in Iraq? -- Michael Rubin, Washington Examiner
8 comments:
"WNU Editor: So much for those who hoped that two years ago the spirit of the Iranian nuclear deal would result in an era of cooperation and better understanding between Iran and the rest of the Middle East. From my vantage point .... and I hate to say it to those who still support that deal .... but the Iranians are working from an entirely different agenda."
I don't recall anyone seriously thinking the Iran deal would somehow now make Iran compliant to the US outlook on the ME. What I do remember is the GOP fighting tooth and nail against it because it was an Obama initiative. They were so wrapped up in that aspect that they didn't have any idea what the agreement was and was not. Now however I'm sure that that is and will become a major talking point.
For most and particularly those in this administration there is little to no understanding of what is going on in the ME or even what Irans relationship with Iraq is. There is a feeling among the chickenhawks that if only we dropped more bombs and killed more people somehow this will get us what we want (whatever that may be) and importantly atone for the massive waste of lives and treasure on OIF. Just like Viet Nam, another US disaster.
And of course there are other players in the Iran agreement which, as always, we will ignore. It will of course make things worse. But that's the way we roll in the US! Plow ahead, create more chaos and mayhem and then wonder how it all went so wrong.
This and all that goes with it is all academic though. Such a pity. All that death. All that destruction. And we don't even know what it's all for.
Sir--
The Iranian nuke deal was ONLY about nukes, never extended to anything beuyond that
A bit off topic but clearly related:
The Iran Business Ties Trump Didn’t Disclose
Jason,
America's need for oil resulted in this policy of being stuck in the Middle East with all of its headaches and misery. If there was no oil, the ME would be treated like Burundi. Fortunately, America is no longer becoming dependent on oil from that region and elsewhere, and one can only hope that better technologies to extract oil coupled with developments in better efficiencies and alternative energies will make this dependence on ME oil less.
Jason (and Fred), I also disagree with your assertion that the U.S. expected Iran to be compliant with what the U.S. wanted. The Obama administration wanted to be engaged with Iran, and there was a legitimate hope among all the major powers who signed onto this deal that Iran would become more involved in the international community and that the international community would in turn temper Iran's expansionist and confrontational ambitions. Yes .... the nuclear issue was on the table .... but it was more than that .... and even the Iranians were signalling a willingness to change their approach to foreign policy and in their relations with the West.
So what changed everything? The hardliners saw an opportunity (and a real threat from ISIS) in both Iraq and Syria to assert their agenda .... and they acted on it. And this is the rub .... they are not listening to the concerns and fears that are being raised among many in the Middle East .... who are also allies with the U.S..
Bottom line .... this is not going to end well, and it has already set back diplomatic efforts with Iran to a more darker time. And while Iran may feel that they have the advantage right now .... to get themselves directly involved in Arab conflicts has never worked out for anyone in the past, and I expect the same in this round.
"and I hate to say it to those who still support that deal .... but the Iranians are working from an entirely different agenda." - WNU
They are reading from the same sheet of music as Merkel except it is the American edition.
I would like to point out that Germans are lambasting themselves so much and Mutti's leadership is so masochistic that Köln has a new Muslim enclave which is a no go area.
Similarly America's center-Left leadership lambastes the U.S. Thus all the bad deals international with the liberal theology that 'justifies' it to themselves and devout liberals.
They are stupid but devout. I give them that.
" Just like Viet Nam, another US disaster."
Because all those Catholic and Buddhist Vietnamese were supposed to live under communism, because Uncle Ho went to some salon in Paris and joined a circle __.
Funny thing is that communism has fallen apart In China, Russia, North Korea and Vietnam.
Not one of those states is communist. Communism often leaves behind a remnant where things are state controlled &oppressive. It is sort of like when a star goes supernova. It is not destroyed. It leaves behind a dwarf.
It is or will be that way on Cuba too.
"Because all those Catholic and Buddhist Vietnamese were supposed to live under communism, because Uncle Ho went to some salon in Paris and joined a circle __."
Ho was on our side against the Japanese. He looked to the U.S. to be a post war ally. He wanted to model VN government on the US constitution. And yet again in a very short-sighted and insular move the U.S. decided to back the French. Also as an aside by the time US involvement began to ramp up, Ho had been sidelined as not tough enough.
"Funny thing is that communism has fallen apart In China, Russia, North Korea and Vietnam.
Not one of those states is communist. Communism often leaves behind a remnant where things are state controlled &oppressive. It is sort of like when a star goes supernova. It is not destroyed. It leaves behind a dwarf.
It is or will be that way on Cuba too."
Yes and is it "because of" or "in spite of"? That's the real question.
"Ho was on our side against the Japanese"
We had a common enemy at the time.
Ho might have said a few flowery things to a few impressionable people , but he spent his last 2 decades or more with the "We will conquer you communists"
Actions speak louder than words.
"Not one of those states is communist." All those state were understood by university brats, university profs, rank & file, union organizers and politicians all over the world to be communist. By the 1990s they are not communist in action or by in thought (except by a few apologists).
"Yes and is it "because of" or "in spite of"? That's the real question."
They are totalitarian because of previous communist rule.
You can add the central Asian stans and Angola to that list.
The Soviet Union lasted the longest at 70 years and China was already transitioning to one party plutocratic authoritarian state in the early 1980s. So it only lasted 3 decades or so.
What I like about China is that you have government minders in every place of worship. I bet you like that too. You got to keep an eye on those damnable Buddhists! Remember Jason, you are not suppose to see the 'minder's'. You are suppose to make like a Traalite. That should not be stretch for you.
In the 1980s we could dream or fool ourselves at thinking China would be Democratic. Until the 2010s we could fool ourselves that they would not be militaristic. That is over, you should try to keep up.
The communist sphere had enough resources, people, land and tech to be self sufficient. So if it failed it failed because of communism.
You should study to the communist communities and see what works and what does not work. You won't and that is what I expect out of you.
I was surprised to learn from my communist trained spouse that communists believe in unequal pay. Believe me they are very well trained in the Marxist dialectic. You not so much. I've read one communist commune in Virginia also has unequal pay scales, so I guess I should not be surprised. You might want to study Hutterite communities to discover the psychological limits of communism at least as it currently stands. But you won't.
I think this is more your speed.
Episode #75
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=%22the+way+to+eden%22&&view=detail&mid=2B11D5AF182D445FE4F32B11D5AF182D445FE4F3&&FORM=VDRVRV
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