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Al Maliki faulted for fall of Mosul to Daesh
Al Abadi says military leaders wil lface trial for abandoning positions in Ramadi
August 16, 2015
Baghdad: An Iraqi parliamentary investigation holds former premier Nouri Al Maliki and 35 others responsible for the fall of second city Mosul to Daesh terrorists last year, lawmakers said Sunday.
Investigative committee member MP Abdul Raheem Al Shammari said that Al Maliki, who was prime minister from 2006 until last year, was among those named, as did another member who declined to be identified.
The report detailing findings of the investigation has been presented to parliament speaker Saleem Al Jabouri, who said it will be sent to the prosecutor general for legal action.
“No one is above the law and the questioning of the people, and the judiciary will punish those” responsible, Al Jabouri said in a statement.
Daesh launched a devastating offensive on June 9 last year, overrunning Mosul the next day and then sweeping through large areas north and west of Baghdad.
Multiple Iraqi divisions collapsed during the initial assault in the north, in some cases abandoning weapons and other equipment that then fell into Daesh’s hands.
Al Maliki is widely viewed as having exacerbated sectarian tensions between the country’s Shiite majority and the Sunni Arab minority.
Widespread discontent among Sunni Arabs, who say they were marginalised and targeted by Al Maliki’s government, played a major role in worsening the security situation in Iraq, culminating in the disastrous terrorist offensive.
He also appointed commanders based on personal loyalty rather than competence, and was commander-in-chief of the armed forces during two years in which the Iraqi military did not carry out necessary training, leading to a decline in skills.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi directed military commanders on Sunday to face a court martial for abandoning their positions in Ramadi, as he pushed ahead with a campaign aimed at combating corruption and mismanagement.
Underlining the risks of the ambitious reform agenda, however, the head of parliament’s integrity panel, which refers corruption cases to the courts, said his convoy had been targeted west of Baghdad on Saturday evening.
Al Abadi is seeking to transform a system he says has encouraged graft and incompetence, depriving Iraqis of basic services while undermining government forces in the battle against Daesh terrorists.
Ramadi, the capital of western Anbar province, fell to the group in May, dampening Baghdad’s hopes of quickly routing them following earlier victories in eastern provinces.
The army’s collapse a year earlier in the face of Daesh’s takeover of the northern city of Mosul left the Baghdad government dependent on Shiite militias, many funded and assisted by neighbouring Iran, to defend the capital and recapture lost ground.
Baghdad-based analyst Jassem Al Bahadli said Al Abadi was wise to focus his reforms on the security forces.
“Al Abadi’s decision to refer military commanders to trial is a clear attempt to send a strong message to all other army officers that he will show zero tolerance with any future retreat in the fight against Daesh,” said Al Bahadli, a former army general and an expert on Shiite armed groups.
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Al Abadi says military leaders wil lface trial for abandoning positions in Ramadi
August 16, 2015
Baghdad: An Iraqi parliamentary investigation holds former premier Nouri Al Maliki and 35 others responsible for the fall of second city Mosul to Daesh terrorists last year, lawmakers said Sunday.
Investigative committee member MP Abdul Raheem Al Shammari said that Al Maliki, who was prime minister from 2006 until last year, was among those named, as did another member who declined to be identified.
The report detailing findings of the investigation has been presented to parliament speaker Saleem Al Jabouri, who said it will be sent to the prosecutor general for legal action.
“No one is above the law and the questioning of the people, and the judiciary will punish those” responsible, Al Jabouri said in a statement.
Daesh launched a devastating offensive on June 9 last year, overrunning Mosul the next day and then sweeping through large areas north and west of Baghdad.
Multiple Iraqi divisions collapsed during the initial assault in the north, in some cases abandoning weapons and other equipment that then fell into Daesh’s hands.
Al Maliki is widely viewed as having exacerbated sectarian tensions between the country’s Shiite majority and the Sunni Arab minority.
Widespread discontent among Sunni Arabs, who say they were marginalised and targeted by Al Maliki’s government, played a major role in worsening the security situation in Iraq, culminating in the disastrous terrorist offensive.
He also appointed commanders based on personal loyalty rather than competence, and was commander-in-chief of the armed forces during two years in which the Iraqi military did not carry out necessary training, leading to a decline in skills.
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi directed military commanders on Sunday to face a court martial for abandoning their positions in Ramadi, as he pushed ahead with a campaign aimed at combating corruption and mismanagement.
Underlining the risks of the ambitious reform agenda, however, the head of parliament’s integrity panel, which refers corruption cases to the courts, said his convoy had been targeted west of Baghdad on Saturday evening.
Al Abadi is seeking to transform a system he says has encouraged graft and incompetence, depriving Iraqis of basic services while undermining government forces in the battle against Daesh terrorists.
Ramadi, the capital of western Anbar province, fell to the group in May, dampening Baghdad’s hopes of quickly routing them following earlier victories in eastern provinces.
The army’s collapse a year earlier in the face of Daesh’s takeover of the northern city of Mosul left the Baghdad government dependent on Shiite militias, many funded and assisted by neighbouring Iran, to defend the capital and recapture lost ground.
Baghdad-based analyst Jassem Al Bahadli said Al Abadi was wise to focus his reforms on the security forces.
“Al Abadi’s decision to refer military commanders to trial is a clear attempt to send a strong message to all other army officers that he will show zero tolerance with any future retreat in the fight against Daesh,” said Al Bahadli, a former army general and an expert on Shiite armed groups.
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