Iran wages war against ISIS! Wait, In Iraq?

[Rockstar]

Fierce fighting has erupted around the Iraqi city of Tikrit to the north of Baghdad, best known the world over as the home town of Saddam Hussein and regarded to be the spiritual heartland of the Baathist regime. The Iraqi government forces launched an operation on Monday to recapture the city from the Islamic State [IS] militants. This hugely important development has three dimensions.

First, of course, if the operations succeed, it will constitute a big blow to the IS. Tikrit is not only a big trophy by itself but the Iraqi government will be carrying the war into the IS’ territory. Most likely, the next target will be Mosul, straddling Iraqi Kurdistan, where the IS’ dramatic surge first appeared last June. It is tempting to surmise that the IS faces a near-term prospect of extinction in military terms.

The second dimension is with regard to the crucial role that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards [IRGC] are reportedly playing in the Tikrit operation under the Iraqi flag. The BBC has reported, citing Shi’ite militia sources, that the charismatic and legendary commander of the IRGC Gen Qasem Soleimani has been seen in the frontline and is “personally taking part in leading the operation.” There is delightful irony that Soleimani is leading the liberation of the hometown of his old enemy Saddam. That apart, Shi’ite Iran is leading the fight today against a Sunni Islamist enemy who poses existential threat to the Sunni Arab regimes of the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia, which has otherwise no love lost for Iran.

Finally, the fighting raging around Tikrit raises a big question: Where on earth is the US-led international coalition hiding? Iran has put the US and its coalition partners to shame by single-handedly taking the war into the IS tent. Iran is relentlessly exposing the IS as a pest that is easily squashed if gone about seriously, than the 10′ tall enemy with mythical prowess that the Western analysts made it out to be.

http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakuma...les-for-cover/

[Oberon]

Yup, Iran is really exploiting this situation for all its worth, making friends and influencing people in Iraq. Post-Daesh they will be in a good position to bring Iraq into their sphere of influence.

[CCIP]

I'm still surprised that Iran's role in those conflicts comes to people as a surprise. It's probably worth pointing out that Iran was involved in Syria and Iraq from the start, on the side of what the West would condisder "good guys" today - they've fought against both Al Quaeda and ex-Baathist militias in Iraq, against both Assad and ISIS' predecessors in Syria. In all truth, they've probably had a much bigger role in this than the US for the past few years. Iran are in fact very active throughout the region, because the biggest check on their power - Saddam - is gone. They've been actively exploring possibilities ever since.

There are three things Iran is not interested in: 1) chaos and anarchy on their borders and in the "near abroad"; 2) Sunni extremists on their borders; 3) Sunni monarchies or Baathist socialist regimes (both their arch-nemeses - despite all the propaganda, Israel takes only a distant 3rd) stepping in to fill the void created by that chaos. They can't afford not to be involved. So you bet they'll be active - it's a national security concern to them in a far more immediate way than it would ever be to the US or Europe. It's easy to focus on Iran's relationship with the US or Israel and see them as a rogue state and an unstable entity, but in the region right now, they're probably the most effective stabilizing force. It's unfortunate to have to admit that, but relatively speaking, Iran are very much the "good guys" in that particular conflict, at least from a US/EU perspective. Which is probably another reason that Obama & Rice & co. are so keen to keep them at the negotiating table.

[CCIP]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Yup, Iran is really exploiting this situation for all its worth, making friends and influencing people in Iraq. Post-Daesh they will be in a good position to bring Iraq into their sphere of influence.

Arguably, other than the areas controlled by Kurds and ISIS, Iraq has already been completely and thoroughly in Iran's sphere of influence for a good decade. In fact, the cynical view might be that the government in Baghdad is effectively an Iranian puppet regime, and has been for some time - kept under close watch by (very Iran-friendly) Shia militias that control the streets and provide the actual security, infrastructure and law enforcement for the average Iraqi neighbourhood.

[Rockstar]

Its 320 pages but its free!

http://intersci.ss.uci.edu/wiki/eBoo...t%20Khoury.pdf

Tribes and State Formation in the Middle East
Preferred Citation: Khoury, Philip S., and Joseph Kostiner, editors Tribes and State Formation in the Middle East. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1990 1990. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft0d5n99hf/
Tribes and State Formation in the Middle East Edited By
Philip S. Khoury
and
Joseph Kostiner
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley · Los Angeles · Oxford
© 1991 The Regents of the University of California

[vienna]

Thanks for the link, Rockstar. I look forward to reading the PDF...

If some of you don't want to slog through the whole document, a very good, short, and very well-described history of the roots of what we know as the modern Middle-East can be found in a couple of chapters of the excellent T. E. Lawrence biography by Michael Korda, "Hero". Korda manages to make many of the convoluted tribal and political machinations post-WWI more understandable and gives context to what we have today. Highly recommended...


<O>

[Jimbuna]

Love or hate Iran, one positive has to be the fact a country from the region is taking on some of the burdon in rectifying matters in said region.

[Rockstar]

Iranian troops in Iraq. Now all of a sudden Turkey wants to help out in Mosul. Noble cause? I doubt it. Most likely a response to Iranian involvement in Iraq letting them know they want a slice of Iraqi pie too.


http://www.defensenews.com/story/def...iraq/24308349/


just my W.A.G.

[Betonov]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

just my W.A.G.

I concur.

Any noble cause by Turkey would have meant an earlier involvement

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

Iranian troops in Iraq. Now all of a sudden Turkey wants to help out in Mosul. Noble cause? I doubt it. Most likely a response to Iranian involvement in Iraq letting them know they want a slice of Iraqi pie too.


http://www.defensenews.com/story/def...iraq/24308349/


just my W.A.G.

Originally Posted by Betonov

I concur.

Any noble cause by Turkey would have meant an earlier involvement

Agreed but it doesn't look like ground troops will be included.