There is no 'win' in Iraq. Yet the failed war never ends. RUDAW reports:
Retired United States Army Lieutenant General Jay M. Garner says
President Joe Biden’s “timid” responses to attacks on international
targets in Iraq are sending the wrong message to Iran.
Rudaw's Bestoon Khalid on Tuesday interviewed the former commanding
general for US forces during the 1991 Joint Task Force Bravo-Operation
Provide Comfort, which delivered humanitarian aid to Kurds fleeing the
Baath regime’s persecution and enforced a no-fly zone.
“When you’re attacked, you respond with force is a way to do it, but
they haven't,” said Garner, who was also briefly appointed as Director
of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq
following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. “We've always responded with force.
[...] He's only been president for about three months. So you got to
wait and see what he does, but he has been very timid with his responses
thus far."
Rocket attacks widely blamed on pro-Iran militias take place frequently
across Iraq. Erbil International Airport was the target of a rocket
attack in mid-February and a drone attack in mid-April.
“I think he gives the wrong signal to the Iranians, and it gives the
wrong signal to our Arab allies," he added, arguing that the US has not
had a coherent policy in Iraq in 18 years.
Why is the US still in Iraq? The lie is that it's 'defeating' ISIS. But Cheryl Hines (SWORD TODAY) reports, "Eighteen Iraqis were killed in four jihadi attacks between Thursday and Saturday, April 28Is In May, security sources told Agency France-Press (AFP). The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a police recruiting center in Baghdad. Scott Matthews covers it here. XINHUA reports, "Seven members of a Kurdish security force, known as Peshmerga, were killed and two wounded on Saturday in an attack by militants of Islamic State (IS) group in the northern province of Kirkuk, a provincial police source said."
ISIS was never defeated in Iraq. It was a lie and we said so in real time and ever since. The aim of a terrorist group is not to rule a country. Thanks to the inept Nouri al-Maliki, ISIS was able to not only carry out terrorist attacks in Iraq but also to seize territory -- most infamously, Mosul. While those areas were 'liberated,' ISIS was not defeated. Prior to 'liberation' of areas, ISIS carried out attacks and it continues to carry out attacks.
Why does the truth matter? If we ever arrive at the point where some in the US government truly embrace withdrawing US troops and contractors from Iraq, the argument will be made that ISIS will carry out attacks. ISIS has never stopped carrying out attacks and keeping US troops in Iraq to pretend they're Matt Dillon in MY BODYGARD is not going to work tomorrow and it's not worked any day previously.
Meanwhile the government of Turkey continues to terrorize Northern Iraq with bombings and sending troops into Iraq. AP observes, "Turkish warplanes, military helicopters, and artilleries have carried out extensive bombings on the areas in Kesta, Jilki, and Herur villages in Dohuk, in the northern Kurdish region of Iraq. Local residents, many of them farmers in the villages, said they feared for their security, amid the constant attacks." The issue of establishing bases in northern Iraq? MEHR NEWS AGENCY notes:
The Security and Defense Committee of the Iraqi Parliament announced that it will hold an extraordinary meeting to review the statements of the Turkish Interior Minister, who said that Ankara intends to establish a military base in northern Iraq.
Badr al-Ziyadi, a member of the defense and security committee, said, "Turkey's advance on Iraqi soil is a clear violation of the country's sovereignty. The Parliamentary Security and Defense Commission will hold an extraordinary meeting to review the Turkish Interior Minister's remarks about the construction of a military base in northern Iraq and to ensure its accuracy."
Mohammed al-Baldawi, a member of the Iraqi Parliament's Security and Defense Committee called the prime minister's silence over Turkey's decision to build a military base in northern Iraq "suspicious and surprising."
"Turkey's announcement of a military base in northern Iraq is a provocative step and a declaration of war," he said.
Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Ankara would press ahead with its military operations near its border in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.
Emphasizing the strategic significance of the Metina region of Duhok Province in Iraqi Kurdistan, Soylu said, “Just like we did in Syria, we will establish bases and control the area.”
It is an act of war for one country to establish a military base in another country without the host country's permission or request.
In other news, Christopher Kanus (GUARDIAN) reports:
The wife of an Australian man arrested in Iraq has pleaded with the foreign minister, Marise Payne, to intervene and help her husband, who she says is being kept in jail as “leverage” to help the country’s central bank.
Mechanical engineer Robert Pether, 46, remains behind bars in Baghdad without the means to contact his family after being arrested without warning three weeks ago.
Pether was involved in the construction of the Central Bank of Iraq’s new headquarters, but the project became mired in a contractual dispute. He flew to Baghdad from Dubai at the invitation of the bank to resolve the problem, only to be arrested when he and a colleague turned up for the meeting.
His wife, Desree Pether, said that prior to travelling to Baghdad her husband had asked the Australian embassy in Iraq whether he would be safe. He was assured he would be, according to her.
Speaking to the Guardian from Ireland, Desree Pether urged the Australian foreign minister to intervene in the case.
“This is one of the top engineers from Australia and he went over in good faith after dutifully checking with the embassy and specifically explaining the situation that there was a dispute between his employer and the Central Bank of Iraq,” she said.
