BAGHDAD — Iranian fighter jets struck extremist targets in Iraq <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/iraq/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> recently, Iranian and American officials have confirmed, in the latest display of Tehran’s new willingness to conduct military operations openly on foreign battlefields rather than covertly and through proxies.
The shift stems in part from Iran <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/iran/index.html?inline=nyt-geo>’s deepening military role there is no direct coordination between Iran and the United States, there is a de facto nonaggression pact that in Iraq <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/iraq/index.html?inline=nyt-geo> in the war against the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State. But it also reflects a profound change in Iran <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/iran/index.html?inline=nyt-geo>’s strategy, stepping from the shadows into a more overt use of hard power as it promotes Shiite influence around the region. Iranian and Pentagon officials acknowledged that Iran had stepped up its military operations in Iraq last week, using 1970s-era fighter jets to bomb targets in a buffer zone that extends 25 miles into Iraq. Continue reading the main story <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/middleeast/iran-airstrikes-hit-islamic-state-in-iraq.html?_r=0#story-continues-2> <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/world/middleeast/graft-hobbles-iraqs-military-in-fighting-isis.html> - Graft Hobbles Iraq’s Military in Fighting ISISNOV. 23, 2014 <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/world/middleeast/graft-hobbles-iraqs-military-in-fighting-isis.html> - The new military approach highlights an unusual confluence of interests in both Iraq and Syria, where Tehran and Washington find themselves fighting the same enemy in an increasingly public fashion. While neither side is eager to acknowledge. Continue reading the main story <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/middleeast/iran-airstrikes-hit-islamic-state-in-iraq.html?_r=0#story-continues-3> TURKEY 200 MILES IRAN IRAQ Jalula Saeediyeh Baghdad DIYALA Karbala Najaf SAUDI ARABIA KUWAIT “We are flying missions over Iraq, we coordinate with the Iraqi government as we conduct those,” Rear Adm. John F. Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, said Tuesday. “It’s up to the Iraqi government to de-conflict that airspace.” For months, Iran has flashed its military prowess around the region. It has offered weapons to the Lebanese Army and supported the Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen who have taken over the capital, Sana, where a car bomb struck the Iranian ambassador’s residence on Wednesday. In Syria <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/syria/index.html?inline=nyt-geo>, Hezbollah, the Iranian-supported Shiite militant movement, and the Iranian paramilitary Al Quds force, have kept President Bashar al-Assad in power. And in Iraq, Iran’s once-elusive spymaster, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the commander of the Quds force who has spent a career in the shadows orchestrating terrorist attacks — including some that killed American soldiers in Iraq — has emerged as a public figure, with pictures of him on Iraq’s battlefields popping up on social media. The apparent shift in Iran’s strategy has been most noticeable in Iraq, where even American officials acknowledge the decisive role of Iranian-backed militias, particularly in protecting Baghdad from an assault by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaeda_in_mesopotamia/index.html?inline=nyt-org> or ISIL, but also working with the American-led air campaign. While Iran’s increasingly public military role has proved essential in repelling the advances of the Islamic State, American officials worry that it could ultimately destabilize Iraq by deepening sectarian divisions. Iraq’s Sunnis blame the Iranian-backed Shiite militias for sectarian abuses, and are reluctant to join in the fight against extremists because of Iran’s influence. Admiral Kirby said: “Our message to Iran is the same today as it was when it started, and as it is to any neighbor in the region that is involved in the anti-ISIL activities. And that’s that we want nothing to be done that further inflames sectarian tensions in the country.” Continue reading the main story <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/middleeast/iran-airstrikes-hit-islamic-state-in-iraq.html?_r=0#story-continues-6> The admiral, who indirectly confirmed the airstrikes by saying that he had “no reason to believe” the reports about them were untrue, said that they appeared so far to be limited. The airstrikes occurred at the end of November in Iraq’s eastern Diyala Province, where Iran’s territory is closest to Iraq’s battlefields, Hamid Reza Taraghi, an Iranian politician, confirmed. He also confirmed the existence of the buffer zone, which he said was accepted by the Iraqis. “We do not tolerate any threats within the buffer zone, and these targets were in the vicinity of the buffer zone,” Mr. Taraghi said, adding that the strikes had killed dozens of extremist fighters. In Iraq, a degree of coordination between the American military and Iran’s is imperative but also awkward, making it appear that the United States is working in tandem with its adversary. Often a single Iraqi officer will serve as an intermediary between the American-led air campaign and the Iranians. Iraqi leaders say that Tehran has often been faster than Washington to offer help in a crisis. When the Islamic State stormed Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, in June and moved south toward Baghdad, President Obama took a measured approach, pushing for political changes before committing to military action. But Iran jumped right in. It was the first country to send weapons to the Kurds in the north, and moved quickly to protect Baghdad, working with militias it supported already. “When Baghdad was threatened, the Iranians did not hesitate to help us, and did not hesitate to help the Kurds when Erbil was threatened,” Iraq’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, said in a recent television interview here, referring to the Kurdish capital in the north. He contrasted that approach to that of the United States, saying the Iranians were “unlike the Americans, who hesitated to help us when Baghdad was in danger, and hesitated to help our security forces.” “And the reason Iran did not hesitate to help us,” Mr. Abadi added, “was because they consider ISIS <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaeda_in_mesopotamia/index.html?inline=nyt-org> as a threat to them, not only to us.” Continue reading the main story <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/middleeast/iran-airstrikes-hit-islamic-state-in-iraq.html?_r=0#story-continues-9> Video PLAY VIDEO|4:33ISIS’ Dark Oil Trade ISIS’ Dark Oil Trade How can ISIS be stopped? Cripple the organization’s oil smuggling trade. Video by Emily B. Hager on Publish DateDecember 1, 2014. Photo by Karim Sahib/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images. Continue reading the main story <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/middleeast/iran-airstrikes-hit-islamic-state-in-iraq.html?_r=0#story-continues-9>RECENT COMMENTS SI 4 December 2014 War makes strange bed-fellows.......... Iran, Iraq, Assad ,US!! John Bergstrom 4 December 2014 If you look at a map you see a very large country right in the middle of the "Middle East" - Iran shares borders with Iraq and Afghanistan -... naser 4 December 2014 Iran is not fighting in Iraq to annex it to its own territory , but to save the Iraqi people,including Shiites and Sunnis from brutal... - SEE ALL COMMENTS Ali Khedery, a former American official in Iraq, said, “For the Iranians, really, the gloves are off.” Of the growing regional role of General Suleimani, Mr. Khedery was blunt. “Suleimani is the leader of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen,” he said. “Iraq is not sovereign. It is led by Suleimani, and his boss, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei” — Iran’s supreme leader. While the United States and Iran are traditional rivals, if they can reach a deal over Iran’s nuclear program <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/iran/nuclear_program/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>, more normal relations could follow, including close cooperation against the Islamic State. That was the point Mr. Obama made in a letter to the ayatollah last month urging him to sign off on the nuclear deal. But the letter, as well as an earlier one wishing the Iranian leader a speedy recovery from surgery, may have backfired, one analyst said, projecting a weakness that only encouraged Iran to display its power more openly. Continue reading the main story <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/middleeast/iran-airstrikes-hit-islamic-state-in-iraq.html?_r=0#story-continues-10>Continue reading the main story <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/middleeast/iran-airstrikes-hit-islamic-state-in-iraq.html?_r=0#story-continues-10> Continue reading the main story <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/world/middleeast/iran-airstrikes-hit-islamic-state-in-iraq.html?_r=0#story-continues-10> “When Obama sends letters to our leader wishing him a speedy recovery, to us that is a sign of weakness,” said one Iranian journalist closely connected to the conservative Revolutionary Guards <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/i/islamic_revolutionary_guard_corps/index.html?inline=nyt-org>. “During meetings the letter is discussed and we conclude: ‘Obama needs a deal. He needs us.’ We would never write him such a letter.” Shiite politicians in Iraq are hopeful that a nuclear deal would lead to greater coordination between the United States and Iran in the war here, though experts say there is no indication Iran would welcome direct coordination. In an interview this week, Hakim al-Zamili, an Iraqi politician and a Shiite militia leader, said, “If there were an honest coordination between U.S. and Iranian advisers, Iraq could have been liberated within a week.” Sunnis fear that such a deal would give Iran legitimacy on the world stage, and embolden them to exert even more influence here and across the region. Mithal al-Alusi, a Sunni lawmaker, said that an agreement between the United States and Iran would mean “the Americans are handing over Iraq to Iran.” The Obama administration has made clear that while it welcomes Iran’s help in fighting the extremists, there is no actual coordination. On Monday, March 2, 2015 at 6:34:20 AM UTC-6, KeithInTampa wrote: > > The authority on Middle Eastern Affairs and all things conservative, > General Wesley Clark.....(NOT!) > > Maybe General Clark and Tehranian Kay Armin Serjoie want to explain > Iranian supply planes dropping military supplies over Eastern Syria to ISIS > on February 2-3, 2015? > > > > On Mon, Mar 2, 2015 at 12:40 AM, plainolamerican <[email protected] > <javascript:>> wrote: > >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHLqaSZPe98 >> >> >> On Sunday, March 1, 2015 at 11:39:00 PM UTC-6, plainolamerican wrote: >>> >>> Gen. Wesley Clark: “ISIS Got Started With Funding From Our Closest >>> Allies” >>> By Daniel McAdams <http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/daniel-mcadams> >>> Global Research, February 22, 2015 >>> Region: USA <http://www.globalresearch.ca/region/usa> >>> >>> Who can forget his interview with Amy Goodman back in 2007 where he >>> revealed >>> <http://www.globalresearch.ca/we-re-going-to-take-out-7-countries-in-5-years-iraq-syria-lebanon-libya-somalia-sudan-iran/5166> >>> that >>> one of the top generals in the Pentagon had showed him a memo from >>> then-defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld not long after the 9/11 attack >>> outlining US global war plans. According to Clark at the time, the general >>> said: >>> >>> [W]e’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with >>> Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, >>> Iran.” I said, “Is it classified?” He said, “Yes, sir.” I said, “Well, >>> don’t show it to me.” And I saw him a year or so ago, and I said, “You >>> remember that?” He said, “Sir, I didn’t show you that memo! I didn’t show >>> it to you!” >>> >>> Well Clark is back with another very interesting blurt. >>> >>> Far from a spontaneously-arising root-of-all-evil organization, at least >>> according to General Wesley Clark, ISIS was created and funded by our >>> “closest allies.” As the General said: >>> >>> ISIS got started through funding from our friends and allies… to fight >>> to the death against Hezbollah. >>> >>> Which friends and allies, he did not say. But he did suggest that it has >>> become a “Frankenstein monster.” >>> >>> So the insider, Gen. Wesley Clark, informs us that our closest allies in >>> the Middle East have helped create ISIS — the organization we are spending >>> billions of dollars to fight. >>> >>> We do know that Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the other Gulf States have >>> long been obsessed with fighting Hezbollah and Assad, and that both are >>> keen to keep the US fighting on their behalf in the region. Could these be >>> who he was thinking about? >>> >>> Maybe rather than continue to expand the US military presence in the >>> region to fight ISIS, it’s time for the US to have a really good talk with >>> its “allies” in the Middle East. >>> >>> On Sunday, March 1, 2015 at 11:42:08 AM UTC-6, MJ wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>> Feb. 26, 2015 >>>> >>>> *Why Iran Believes ISIS is a U.S. Creation *Kay Armin Serjoie/Tehran >>>> >>>> "We believe that the West has been influential in the creation of ISIS" >>>> >>>> Iran has taken a lead role in defending the regime of Syrian President >>>> Bashar Assad and strengthening the Baghdad government in the war against >>>> the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). But that doesn’t mean >>>> Iran views the United States as an ally in that war, even if they share a >>>> common enemy in ISIS. >>>> >>>> Abdullah Ganji, the managing-director of *Javan *newspaper, which is >>>> believed to closely reflect the views of the government and the powerful >>>> Iranian Revolutionary Guards, says that U.S. support for ISIS is in fact a >>>> way of ensuring Israel’s security and disrupting the Muslim world in the >>>> cause of advancing Western interests. >>>> >>>> “We believe that the West has been influential in the creation of ISIS >>>> for a number of reasons. First to engage Muslims against each other, to >>>> waste their energy and in this way Israel’s security would be guaranteed >>>> or >>>> at least enhanced,” says Ganji. “Secondly, an ugly, violent and homicidal >>>> face of Islam is presented to the world. And third, to create an >>>> inconvenience for Iran.” >>>> >>>> Iran’s relations with the U.S. have been strained since the 1979 >>>> Islamic Revolution ousted the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran and negotiations >>>> are >>>> currently underway between Iran and Western nations, including the U.S., >>>> to >>>> ensure the Islamic Republic does not produce nuclear weapons. >>>> >>>> Ganji went on to say that much of ISIS its propaganda, structure and >>>> weapons were all the work of the West. “A group that claims to be an >>>> Islamic one and has no sensitivity towards occupied Muslim lands in >>>> Palestine but is bent on killing Muslims as its first priority, it’s not a >>>> movement with roots in Islamic history. Not only many of its weapons but >>>> its methods of operation, its propaganda methods and many of its internal >>>> structures are Western, that’s why we are distrustful of the roots of >>>> ISIS,” he says. >>>> >>>> “As the Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Khamenei] also said, [the coalition >>>> forces] have on a number of times even made weapon drops for ISIS. How is >>>> it that they have laser-guided precision munitions and bombs but drop >>>> weapons for the wrong people? And not only once but at least a number of >>>> times,” he says, referring to incidents when weapons dropped from U.S. >>>> aircraft landed in ISIS-controlled areas rather than the intended >>>> Kurdish-controlled areas. >>>> >>>> “Iran cannot cooperate with the United States against ISIS because it >>>> doesn’t trust America, it doesn’t believe in their honesty in combatting >>>> ISIS. Iran can’t trust the U.S. to begin something and to continue to the >>>> end. It acts patronizingly and will change its path whenever it feels it >>>> is >>>> justified. We are also worried that the U.S. is using ISIS as a pretext to >>>> return its troops into Iraq,” Ganji says. “I believe that the U.S. prefers >>>> a weak ISIS that cannot be a major threat but will still cause >>>> inconvenience for Iran, Iraq and Syria and generally what they themselves >>>> called the Shiite crescent.” >>>> >>>> http://time.com/3720081/isis-iran-us-creation/ >>>> >>> -- >> -- >> Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. >> For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum >> >> * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ >> * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. >> * Read the latest breaking news, and more. >> >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "PoliticalForum" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] <javascript:>. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
