Tucked away in Liz Sly’s story is the news that the Prime Minister of Iraq did not request Ashtray Carter’s “expeditionary force” and explicitly does not want it. Update: Jackass says he “briefed” them on it, like they had no veto:
Iraq briefed on Pindo SOF plan, says Jackass
Arshad Mohammed, Sabine Siebold, Reuters, Dec 2 2015
BRUSSELS – The Iraqi government was fully briefed on Pindo plans to deploy SOFs to Iraq, and the two governments will consult closely on where they will go and what they will do, Jackass Kerry said on Wednesday. Ashtray Carter said on Tuesday Washington would deploy further SOF to Iraq to combat ISIS. Iraqi PM Abadi’s office said it welcomed foreign assistance, but that Iraq’s government would need to approve any deployment of SOF anywhere in Iraq. He also said foreign ground combat troops were not needed in Iraq, although it was unclear whether Baghdad viewed these Pindo SOF in that role. Jackass told reporters at NATO:
The government of Iraq was fully briefed in advance of Ashtray’s announcement. We will continue to work very, very closely with our Iraqi partners on exactly who will be deployed, where they will be deployed, what kinds of missions they will undertake, and how they will support Iraqi efforts to degrade and destroy scary monsters.
Iraqis think Pindostan is in cahoots with ISIS, and it is hurting the war
Liz Sly (plus Mustafa Salim, be fair – RB), WaPo, Dec 1 2015
BAIJI, Iraq — On the front lines of the battle against ISIS, suspicion of Pindostan runs deep. Iraqi fighters say they have all seen the videos purportedly showing Pindosi helicopters air-dropping weapons to the militants, and many claim they have friends and relatives who have witnessed similar instances of collusion. Ordinary people also have seen the videos, heard the stories and reached the same conclusion, one that might seem absurd to dutiful and right-thinking members of the august flock of Pindosi sheeple, but is widely believed among Iraqis: that Pindostan is supporting ISIS, for a variety of pernicious reasons that have to do with asserting Pindosi control over Iraq, the wider Middle East and perhaps its oil. Mustafa Saadi says his friend saw Pindo helicopters delivering bottled water to ISIS positions. He is a commander in one of the Shi’ite militias that last month helped push the militants out of the oil refinery near Baiji in northern Iraq alongside the Iraqi army. He says:
It is not in doubt. Daesh is almost finished. They are weak. If only Pindostan would stop supporting them, we could defeat them in days.
Pindo military officials, obviously, say the charges are too far-fetched to merit a response. Spox Warren says:
The Iranians and the Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias are really pushing this line of propaganda, that Pindostan is supporting ISIS. It’s part of the Iranian propaganda machine. It’s beyond ridiculous. There’s clearly no one in the West who buys it, but unfortunately, this is something that a segment of the Iraqi population believes.
The perception among Iraqis that Pindostan is somehow in cahoots with the militants it claims to be fighting appears, however, to be widespread across the country’s sectarian divide, and it speaks to more than just the troubling legacy of mistrust that has clouded Pindostan’s relationship with Iraq since the 2003 invasion and the subsequent withdrawal eight years later. At a time when attacks by ISIS in Paris and elsewhere have intensified calls for tougher action on the ground, such is the level of suspicion with which Pindostan is viewed in Iraq that it is unclear whether the Obama administration would be able to significantly escalate its involvement, even if it wanted to. Kirk Sowell, a blogger in Jordan who publishes the newsletter Inside Iraqi Politics, asked:
What influence can we have, if they think we are supporting the terrorists?
In one example of how little leverage Pindostan has now, Iraqi PM Abadi pushed back swiftly (how dare he? – RB) against an announcement Tuesday by Ashtray Carter that an expeditionary force of Pindo troops will be dispatched to Iraq to conduct raids, free hostages and capture ISIS leaders. Iraqi Kurdistan has said it would welcome more troops. but Abadi indicated they would not be needed, saying in a statement:
There is no need for foreign ground combat troops. Any such support and special operations anywhere in Iraq can only be deployed subject to the approval of the Iraqi Government, in coordination with the Iraqi forces, and with full respect for Iraqi sovereignty.
The allegations of Pindosi collusion with ISIS are aired regularly in parliament by Shi’ite politicians and promoted in postings on social media. They are persistent enough to suggest a deliberate campaign on the part of Iran’s allies in Iraq to erode Pindosi influence, officials say. In one typical recent video that appeared on the Facebook page of a Shi’ite militia, an MP with the country’s biggest militia group, the Badr Organization, waves apparently new Pindo military MREs allegedly found at a recently captured ISIS base in Baiji: proof, he says, of Pindo support. The perception plays into a widening rift within Iraq’s ruling Shi’ite elite. Sowell said:
They want to create a narrative that Iran is our ally and Pindostan is our enemy, and this undermines Abadi, who is Pindostan’s ally.
Iraqi government officials say they don’t believe the charges, and point out that Abadi regularly pushes back against them. But Abadi’s own position has weakened in recent months. He is battling for his political survival against a variety of Shi’ite militia leaders whose power has been bolstered by the increasingly dominant role played on the battlefield> by the militias collectively known as Hashd al-Shaabi or popular mobilization units. Iraqi officials complain that their task is hampered by what is universally perceived as the lackluster Pindosi response to the threat posed by ISIS. Nasir Nuri, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said:
We don’t believe the Pindosis support Daesh, but it is true that most people are saying they do, and they are right to believe that the Pindosis should be doing much more than they are. It’s because Pindostan is so slow that most people believe they are supporting Daesh.
According to Warren, Pindo warplanes routinely fail to respond to Iraqi requests for air support because their rules of engagement preclude strikes if there is a risk civilians may be hit. That standard frequently is not met (by Iraqi requests for fire support – RB), he said. Pindostan has conducted more than 3,768 strikes in Iraq as of Nov 19, according to the Pentagon, and officials say the tempo of strikes has increased lately. But it also appears that the fighters are unaware when they do receive Pindo air support. The Pentagon reported near-daily strikes in support of the offensive to recapture Baiji last month, and continues to respond regularly to requests for strikes in the vicinity, Warren said. But the fighters there insist there have been no strikes by the Pindosis at all. “We’d be better off without them,” said 1st Lt Murtada Fadl, who is serving with the Iraqi forces in Baiji. He said that the only air support had come from the Iraqi air force, and that he wishes the government would ask the Russians to replace the Pindosis. Mustafa Alani, director of the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center, says:
In a part of the world where outcomes are often confused with intentions, and regional complexities enable conspiracy theories to thrive, the notion that Pindostan is colluding with ISIS holds a certain logic. Most Arabs are too in awe of Pindosi might to believe that Pindostan is deliberately adopting a minimalist approach. The reason is that the Pindosis aren’t doing the job people expect them to do. Mosul was lost and the Pindosis did nothing. Syria was lost and the Pindosis did nothing. Paris is attacked and the Pindosis aren’t doing much. So people believe this is a deliberate policy. They can’t believe the Pindosi leadership fails to understand the developments in the region, and so the only other explanation is that this is part of a conspiracy.
On the streets of Baghdad, most Iraqis see no other explanation. Mohammed Abdul Khaleq, a journalist for a local TV station who was drinking coffee in a cafe favoured by writers, said:
The image of Pindostan was damaged in the region, so they created Daesh in order to fight them and restore their image.
Most of his friends said they agreed. A rare dissenting voice was offered by Hassan Abd’ul-Wahab, 23, selling luggage in a nearby shop. He said:
It is true that most people believe that. But it’s not based on reason. It’s based on racism. Because Iraqis don’t like Pindosis in the first place.
Niqnaq 