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Obama promises Iraqi prime minister more humanitarian aid for refugees
4/14/15
Haider al-Abadi requests more weapons and air strikes against Isis or he will look to Iran, as Obama pledges $200m more in funding for refugees displaced by Isis
Iraq prime minister Haider al-Abadi said ‘We need support from the US and coalition forces’ in fight against Isis. Obama and Congress have been reluctant to get involved in another conflict in Iraq. Photograph: Mike Theiler/Corbis
Dan Roberts in Washington and Spencer Ackerman in New York
Tuesday 14 April 2015 15.09 EDTLast modified on Tuesday 14 April 201517.19 EDT
Barack Obama and his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi discussed US concerns over Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East on Tuesday, as the US president promised an extra $200m in humanitarian aid for refugees displaced by the military campaign against Islamic State fighters.
After “extensive” discussions on the issue during the first visit to Washington by new Iraqi prime minister Abadi, Obama said he expects any foreign forces combating Isis to report to the Iraqi government.
“We expect Iran to have an important relationship with Iraq as a close neighbour,” Obama told reporters after their White House meeting. He said that the expectation was that Shia militias fighting Isis would go through the Iraqi government and be “answerable to” its chain of command.
“That’s how you respect Iraqi sovereignty,” added Obama “It is important for all unified forces to be under control of [the Iraqi government].”
11c80841-1f51-4476-a91c-ad115dcd1fac-460
Final battle for Tikrit: ‘We won’t let the Americans take the glory’
Their meeting came amid some signs of success in combating Isis thanks mainly to Iranian-backed militia forces who have raised fresh fears of the country splintering along sectarian lines.
Abadi said he has no tolerance for human-rights violations committed by pro-government fighters, but acknowledged that some have occurred, according to pool reports of his meeting with Obama.
He blamed “criminals” and “outliers” for committing those acts and pledged they would be found and brought before the Iraqi justice system. But much of their meeting was spent discussing Iraqi requests for further western support.
Abadi called on the US to provide further economic and military support to help stabilise the country and rebuild areas recaptured from Isis. He is also visiting the IMF and World Bank during his visit to Washington.
“We need support from the US and coalition forces,” said the prime minister.
In a factsheet issued to coincide with the visit, the White House boasted that over 100m rounds of ammunition, 62,000 small arms systems, 1,700 Hellfire missiles, and six M1A1 tanks have been provided since last autumn, but Obama declined to comment on requests for Apache helicopters. Fifty MRAP armoured vehicles are set to arrive in Iraq this week.
Abadi arrived in Washington with a long list of requests. The Iraqi leader wants an escalation in the daily US airstrikes against Isis, as well as additional surveillance gear, accelerated training for the Iraqi military and weapons.
Yet Abadi’s visit comes with a tacit warning. If the Obama administration and the GOP Congress does not provide Iraq with the weaponry Abadi desires, he will seek it from his other powerful regional patron, Iran.
Anticipation in the US is high for Abadi to deliver on promises for his US-sponsored army to retake critical terrain from Isis. The Iraqi military has retaken much of Tikrit from Isis, though the Pentagon still considers the city “contested”. Reclamation of the Sunni city required a monthlong campaign and the introduction of more Shia militiamen, some backed by Iran, than Iraqi soldiers.
Obama: US expects Iran to have ‘important relationship’ with Iraq.
The road is likely to get harder for the campaign against Isis. The extremist group still controls key Sunni cities including Ramadi and Fallujah, and US analysts fear that the presence of Shia militiamen will convince powerful Sunni tribes to back Isis against what locals may perceive as an Iranian invasion.
About 200 miles north lies an even harder challenge: ousting Isis from Iraq’s city, Mosul. The US general in charge of forces in the Middle East, Lloyd Austin, has long telegraphed that Iraqi units, backed by US military “advisers” and warplanes, will save Mosul, the toughest fight, for late in an offensive expected to begin later this spring or this summer.
Abadi and his emissaries have been alarmed for months at what they consider an insufficient US commitment to Iraq. Abadi asked Obama to escalate the US contribution during the United Nations general assembly in September.
Obama is reluctant to take the US back into another Iraqi conflict so soon after boasting of extricating US forces in 2011. Yet he has reintroduced 3,000 US troops, ostensibly for noncombat advisory roles, returned US fighter pilots and drones to Iraqi skies, and provided scores of Hellfire missiles.
The Pentagon, eager to show progress, boasted on Monday that Isis has lost between 25% and 30% of the Iraqi territory it held in 2014. Yet it conceded that Isis’s control of its Syrian fiefdoms “remains largely unchanged”.
Though Obama will come under domestic legislative pressure to back Abadi, Congress appears to have rejected his proposal to grant Obama formal legal authorities to wage the latest US war in Iraq.
The House majority leader, Republican Kevin McCarthy, said Monday that he does not see a “path to 218” – a majority of House votes – for Obama’s proposed authorization to use military force. Yet the Pentagon’s top lawyer told an audience on Friday that Obama already possesses all the legal powers necessary to continue a war against Isis that is now in its ninth month.
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4/14/15
Haider al-Abadi requests more weapons and air strikes against Isis or he will look to Iran, as Obama pledges $200m more in funding for refugees displaced by Isis
Iraq prime minister Haider al-Abadi said ‘We need support from the US and coalition forces’ in fight against Isis. Obama and Congress have been reluctant to get involved in another conflict in Iraq. Photograph: Mike Theiler/Corbis
Dan Roberts in Washington and Spencer Ackerman in New York
Tuesday 14 April 2015 15.09 EDTLast modified on Tuesday 14 April 201517.19 EDT
Barack Obama and his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi discussed US concerns over Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East on Tuesday, as the US president promised an extra $200m in humanitarian aid for refugees displaced by the military campaign against Islamic State fighters.
After “extensive” discussions on the issue during the first visit to Washington by new Iraqi prime minister Abadi, Obama said he expects any foreign forces combating Isis to report to the Iraqi government.
“We expect Iran to have an important relationship with Iraq as a close neighbour,” Obama told reporters after their White House meeting. He said that the expectation was that Shia militias fighting Isis would go through the Iraqi government and be “answerable to” its chain of command.
“That’s how you respect Iraqi sovereignty,” added Obama “It is important for all unified forces to be under control of [the Iraqi government].”
11c80841-1f51-4476-a91c-ad115dcd1fac-460
Final battle for Tikrit: ‘We won’t let the Americans take the glory’
Their meeting came amid some signs of success in combating Isis thanks mainly to Iranian-backed militia forces who have raised fresh fears of the country splintering along sectarian lines.
Abadi said he has no tolerance for human-rights violations committed by pro-government fighters, but acknowledged that some have occurred, according to pool reports of his meeting with Obama.
He blamed “criminals” and “outliers” for committing those acts and pledged they would be found and brought before the Iraqi justice system. But much of their meeting was spent discussing Iraqi requests for further western support.
Abadi called on the US to provide further economic and military support to help stabilise the country and rebuild areas recaptured from Isis. He is also visiting the IMF and World Bank during his visit to Washington.
“We need support from the US and coalition forces,” said the prime minister.
In a factsheet issued to coincide with the visit, the White House boasted that over 100m rounds of ammunition, 62,000 small arms systems, 1,700 Hellfire missiles, and six M1A1 tanks have been provided since last autumn, but Obama declined to comment on requests for Apache helicopters. Fifty MRAP armoured vehicles are set to arrive in Iraq this week.
Abadi arrived in Washington with a long list of requests. The Iraqi leader wants an escalation in the daily US airstrikes against Isis, as well as additional surveillance gear, accelerated training for the Iraqi military and weapons.
Yet Abadi’s visit comes with a tacit warning. If the Obama administration and the GOP Congress does not provide Iraq with the weaponry Abadi desires, he will seek it from his other powerful regional patron, Iran.
Anticipation in the US is high for Abadi to deliver on promises for his US-sponsored army to retake critical terrain from Isis. The Iraqi military has retaken much of Tikrit from Isis, though the Pentagon still considers the city “contested”. Reclamation of the Sunni city required a monthlong campaign and the introduction of more Shia militiamen, some backed by Iran, than Iraqi soldiers.
Obama: US expects Iran to have ‘important relationship’ with Iraq.
The road is likely to get harder for the campaign against Isis. The extremist group still controls key Sunni cities including Ramadi and Fallujah, and US analysts fear that the presence of Shia militiamen will convince powerful Sunni tribes to back Isis against what locals may perceive as an Iranian invasion.
About 200 miles north lies an even harder challenge: ousting Isis from Iraq’s city, Mosul. The US general in charge of forces in the Middle East, Lloyd Austin, has long telegraphed that Iraqi units, backed by US military “advisers” and warplanes, will save Mosul, the toughest fight, for late in an offensive expected to begin later this spring or this summer.
Abadi and his emissaries have been alarmed for months at what they consider an insufficient US commitment to Iraq. Abadi asked Obama to escalate the US contribution during the United Nations general assembly in September.
Obama is reluctant to take the US back into another Iraqi conflict so soon after boasting of extricating US forces in 2011. Yet he has reintroduced 3,000 US troops, ostensibly for noncombat advisory roles, returned US fighter pilots and drones to Iraqi skies, and provided scores of Hellfire missiles.
The Pentagon, eager to show progress, boasted on Monday that Isis has lost between 25% and 30% of the Iraqi territory it held in 2014. Yet it conceded that Isis’s control of its Syrian fiefdoms “remains largely unchanged”.
Though Obama will come under domestic legislative pressure to back Abadi, Congress appears to have rejected his proposal to grant Obama formal legal authorities to wage the latest US war in Iraq.
The House majority leader, Republican Kevin McCarthy, said Monday that he does not see a “path to 218” – a majority of House votes – for Obama’s proposed authorization to use military force. Yet the Pentagon’s top lawyer told an audience on Friday that Obama already possesses all the legal powers necessary to continue a war against Isis that is now in its ninth month.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
