IRAQ ISSUE: Civil Services Mentor Magazine - August 2014

IRAQ ISSUE

Iraq has descended into bloody war , it has to fight ISIS led sunni militant as well as Kurdish fighters. Overall, at least 1,300 people were killed and another 1,250 injured in Iraq. Government has lost a Northern and easternportion to sunni and kurdish seperatist respectively. The beleaguered Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, is the latest in the long list of the West’s favorite political leaders turned into pariahs. The conventional wisdom now is that Maliki’s flaws and wrong policies, especially his alienation of the Sunnis and dictatorial style of governance, are at the root of Iraq’s problems. But in truth this war is a spillover of many factors like Syrian war, Geopolitics, Internal politics of Iraq and demography of Iraq.

First let’s look at the external factors involved in the crisis:-

Conflicting U.S. policy objectives in the region have led to current problem. It has proved to be difficult — indeed impossible — to eliminate Saddam but produce a stable Iraq; to isolate Iran and possibly change its regime; to get rid of Assad in Syria without exacerbating its civil war; to forge a Sunni-Israeli alliance against Shia Iran. They removed and executed Saddam Hussain on the grounds of terrorism and mass killing. On the other hand they have not stopped ISIS militant group to gain ground in the region and now ISIS is killing people on religious grounds. Analyst say West could have done more to stop Saudis and others, including Turkey and Qatar, from funding Sunni insurgents.

The most significant factor behind Iraq’s problems has been the inability of Iraq’s neighbours to come in terms with Iraq government. This is primary because of Shia and sunni divide, with Turkey and Saudi Arabia being Sunni dominated and Iraq being predominantly Shia dominated. Turkey which used to rule the Ottoman empire also supported the possibility of what Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutog ¢lu favoured as “neo-Ottomanism,” the Turkish government called for the removal of Syrian President Assad and the emergence of a pro-Istanbul government there. Turkey opened its borders to international militants, with fighters from Libya and Chechnya flying into Turkey to cross into Syria to fight for ISIS and its offshoots. Saudi Arabia also funded and provided political support for jihadis in the region.

Now look at the internal problems of Iraq government. PM of maliki has been blamed of being sectarian and promoting Shia’s for job’s in government and also for all important decision making positions. After NATO forces left Iraq, littlehas been invested for the modernization and training of armed forces. Recruitment for armed forces has been done on sectarian grounds and Shia’s are promoted. This is fueled by deep divide between Shia’s and sunni’s in muslim world in general and Iraq in particular. Sunni’s have traditionally ruled Iraq for centuries in ottoman empire and after independence also found it difficult to come in terms with Shia dominated government.

Iraq’s Sunni Arabs have not been alone in undermining the authority of the country’s Shia leadership. Masood Barzani, who dreams of an independent Kurdistan, has also done what he can to undermine the authority of the government in Baghdad, by essentially running his own economic, oil, and foreign policies. A factor in Barzani’s attitude has been his anti-Iran sentiments, which go back to the troubles that his father, Mulla Mustafa Barzani, had with the Shah.

Iraq and India

An estimated 22,000 Indian nationals were in Iraq at the beginning of the conflict. This included 500 in Baghdad, 2,300 in Najaf, 1,000 in Karbala, 3,000 in Basra, 15,000 in Kurdistan and about 200 in other cities. Some Indians got trapped in the conflict areas following sudden attacks and capturing of several cities in northern and central Iraq by the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) beginning 8 June. A group of 46 nurses working in a local hospital in the city of Tikrit got stuck due to the conflict, but were safely brought back to India in a special Air India flight on 5 July. Another group of about 41 Indian nationals working in a construction company in Mosul were taken captive by an unidentified group.

On 19 June, the Government suspended emigration clearance to Iraq, until further notification and advised Indian nationals to avoid all travel to Iraq. The Government issued travel advisories on 15 June, 24 June and 28 June advising Indian nationals to leave Iraq by commercial means. Our nationals living in areas affected by the ongoing armed conflict have been advised to stay indoors as far as possible and to remain in contact with our Embassy in Baghdad for necessary guidance and updated information on the evolving security situation. Those Indian nationals, who do not have travel documents or need other consular services, have been advised to seek assistance from our Embassy in Baghdad. India’s Mission in Baghdad and the Ministry of External Affairs have established 24 hour help lines to assist Indian’s in Iraq and their concerned family members in India. The Government has set up special camp offices in Najaf, Karbala and Basra and strengthened our Embassy in Baghdad through the addition of 25 staff members.

India negotiated with ISIS who have kidnapped its nationals in Mosul with the assistance of Saudi Arabia, which has influence in the region and within ISIS. Government of India looked for every other help as well. It contacted red crescent only International organisation in the region. It has approached Russia to assist them in release of abducted Indians. The US is providing India information by decoding messages of the ISIS from cyberspace. The Indian Navy has deployed INS Mysore, warship in the Persian Gulf. The Navy has another warship INS Tarkash deployed in the Gulf of Aden and if required, both the ships can be pressed into evacuation operations Crisis of Iraq has long term repercussions for the region and beyond. ISIS cheif Bakr al-Baghdadi declaring the formation of the Caliphate, with him as the Caliph. It is the first return of a Caliphate since Kemal Ataturk’s Turkish National Assembly abolished it in 1924. He declared that borders inside the world of Islam are no longer applicable. Al-Baghdadi’s declaration comes after ISIS threatened to make its presence felt outside the territory it now controls. Bomb blasts in Beirut, Lebanon, hinted at ISIS’ reach. Which could be a threat to democracy’s and terrorist activities could rise worldwide. With Iraq controlling large oil reserves, petroleum prices have already seen a spike. The advance of the Al-Qaeda splinter group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its allies towards Baghdad appears to have been stalled, but the grave situation in Iraq needs to be dealt with militarily as well as politically. Need for national dialogue, for unity, and, very importantly, for the full participation of the all community in the political process is absolute necessity for peace in Iraq.

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