Home
Joe Biden warns Iran, hails Iraqi prime minister
4/10/2015
Vice President Joe Biden warned Iran on Thursday to keep away from Baghdad’s efforts to recapture Iraqi territory held by Islamic State terrorists and urged Iraq to persist with improving its governance and military. They don’t want to be puppets dangling on the string of anyone’s puppeteering in the region,” Biden told troops at National Defense University in Washington, D.C. “Don’t underestimate the power of Iraqi national pride, independence and sovereignty.” The campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is producing results, Biden said. Iraq, the U.S. and their allies have scored key victories, killed important leaders and halted the momentum that ISIL enjoyed last year as it swept across the country. Just as important, he said, is appreciating that the U.S. and Iraq are driving this progress — not Iran. Biden cited the propaganda claims by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps as its operatives and Iraqi Shiite militias prepared to attack the city of Tikrit last month, even mentioning by name Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, the head of the IRGC’s Quds Force, who was said to have taken command in Tikrit personally.
The story Tehran wanted to tell was that it would recapture Tikrit without American help and further cement its influence, Biden said. “Then something changed,” he said. “The attack stalled.” He praised Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is scheduled to visit Washington next week, for “courageously” stepping in.
Abadi ordered the Shiite fighters loyal to Iran away from the attack, Biden said, imposed control by Baghdad’s Ministry of Defense and then asked for help from the U.S. military. Confident they were supporting Iraqi troops and not Iranians, American warplanes ultimately weakened ISIL’s grip on Tikrit and permitted the ground forces loyal to Baghdad to recapture the city.
Biden carefully acknowledged, however, that there’s no end in sight for the war against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
“There’s still a long fight ahead, and I don’t want to paint an overly rosy picture here,” he said.
But the administration has its eyes on more than just the local conflicts in Iraq and Syria. Biden’s rebuke to Iran follows the conclusion of an initial agreement with the U.S. and other world powers to surrender its aspirations for a nuclear weapon in exchange for relief from sanctions that have crippled its economy.
President Barack Obama has high hopes for the deal, but Saudi Arabia and other U.S. allies in the Middle East fear less U.S. support in opposing the spike in Iranian mischief that could follow the influx of money into the once-isolated country. So Obama, Biden and other officials have been trying to assure Arab allies they consider the nuclear deal its own matter, separate from Iran’s support for proxies in Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere.
Within Iraq, Biden said the U.S. wants to Baghdad to continue work on legislation to create a “national guard” for Sunni tribal fighters in the West, integrate Kurdistan’s peshmerga units into the national Iraqi Security Forces, “empower local governance” and pursue other reforms — all of which will be on the agenda for Abadi’s visit.
The bottom line for Washington, Biden said, is to preserve and strengthen “a united, federal and democratic Iraq where power is shared by all Iraqi communities. That’s overwhelmingly what the Iraqis want.”
Republicans, however, were quick to point out that Biden himself hasn’t always wanted that.
A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, who recently returned from a trip to the Middle East, reminded reporters that Biden once called for splitting Iraq into three separate countries for its Sunni, Kurdish and Shiite populations.
“As a senator, Vice President Biden publicly advocated dismembering the Republic of Iraq along sectarian lines,” noted Boehner spokesman Michael Steel. “As vice president, he led the effort for an early and unwise withdrawal in 2009, and failed to reach a crucial status of forces agreement to protect American troops. His record of poor judgment and failure makes him a laughable choice as the face of the administration’s efforts in Iraq.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
4/10/2015
Vice President Joe Biden warned Iran on Thursday to keep away from Baghdad’s efforts to recapture Iraqi territory held by Islamic State terrorists and urged Iraq to persist with improving its governance and military. They don’t want to be puppets dangling on the string of anyone’s puppeteering in the region,” Biden told troops at National Defense University in Washington, D.C. “Don’t underestimate the power of Iraqi national pride, independence and sovereignty.” The campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant is producing results, Biden said. Iraq, the U.S. and their allies have scored key victories, killed important leaders and halted the momentum that ISIL enjoyed last year as it swept across the country. Just as important, he said, is appreciating that the U.S. and Iraq are driving this progress — not Iran. Biden cited the propaganda claims by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps as its operatives and Iraqi Shiite militias prepared to attack the city of Tikrit last month, even mentioning by name Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, the head of the IRGC’s Quds Force, who was said to have taken command in Tikrit personally.
The story Tehran wanted to tell was that it would recapture Tikrit without American help and further cement its influence, Biden said. “Then something changed,” he said. “The attack stalled.” He praised Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is scheduled to visit Washington next week, for “courageously” stepping in.
Abadi ordered the Shiite fighters loyal to Iran away from the attack, Biden said, imposed control by Baghdad’s Ministry of Defense and then asked for help from the U.S. military. Confident they were supporting Iraqi troops and not Iranians, American warplanes ultimately weakened ISIL’s grip on Tikrit and permitted the ground forces loyal to Baghdad to recapture the city.
Biden carefully acknowledged, however, that there’s no end in sight for the war against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
“There’s still a long fight ahead, and I don’t want to paint an overly rosy picture here,” he said.
But the administration has its eyes on more than just the local conflicts in Iraq and Syria. Biden’s rebuke to Iran follows the conclusion of an initial agreement with the U.S. and other world powers to surrender its aspirations for a nuclear weapon in exchange for relief from sanctions that have crippled its economy.
President Barack Obama has high hopes for the deal, but Saudi Arabia and other U.S. allies in the Middle East fear less U.S. support in opposing the spike in Iranian mischief that could follow the influx of money into the once-isolated country. So Obama, Biden and other officials have been trying to assure Arab allies they consider the nuclear deal its own matter, separate from Iran’s support for proxies in Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere.
Within Iraq, Biden said the U.S. wants to Baghdad to continue work on legislation to create a “national guard” for Sunni tribal fighters in the West, integrate Kurdistan’s peshmerga units into the national Iraqi Security Forces, “empower local governance” and pursue other reforms — all of which will be on the agenda for Abadi’s visit.
The bottom line for Washington, Biden said, is to preserve and strengthen “a united, federal and democratic Iraq where power is shared by all Iraqi communities. That’s overwhelmingly what the Iraqis want.”
Republicans, however, were quick to point out that Biden himself hasn’t always wanted that.
A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, who recently returned from a trip to the Middle East, reminded reporters that Biden once called for splitting Iraq into three separate countries for its Sunni, Kurdish and Shiite populations.
“As a senator, Vice President Biden publicly advocated dismembering the Republic of Iraq along sectarian lines,” noted Boehner spokesman Michael Steel. “As vice president, he led the effort for an early and unwise withdrawal in 2009, and failed to reach a crucial status of forces agreement to protect American troops. His record of poor judgment and failure makes him a laughable choice as the face of the administration’s efforts in Iraq.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
