Iraq Militia Leader Hails Iran's 'Unconditional' Support

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

TIKRIT, Iraq — Mar 14, 2015, 2:22 AM ET
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SAMEER N. YACOUB Associated Press

The U.S. has failed to live up to its promises to help Iraq fight Islamic State extremists, unlike the "unconditional" assistance being given by Iran, the commander of Iraq's powerful Shiite militias alleged Friday.

In a battlefield interview near Tikrit, where Iraqi forces are fighting to retake Saddam Hussein's hometown from the militants of the so-called Islamic State, commander Hadi al-Amiri criticized those who "kiss the hands of the Americans and get nothing in return."

Iraqi forces entered Tikrit for the first time Wednesday from the north and south. On Friday, they waged fierce battles to secure the northern neighborhood of Qadisiyya and lobbed mortar shells and rockets into the city center, still in the hands of IS militants. Iraqi military officials have said they expect to reach central Tikrit in two to three days.

The Iranian-backed Shiite militias have played a crucial role in regaining territory from the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State group, supporting Iraq's embattled military and police forces.


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iraqs-top-shiite-cleric-urges-militias-battling-29609019

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. The greatest beneficiary of our invasion of Iraq appears to be Iran.

We removed a Sunni dictator hostile to Iran, and he's been replaced by a majoritarian Shiite government in bed with Tehran.

American policy-makers don't seem smart enough to figure this stuff out. We shouldn't be allowed to engage in imperial adventures until we get smarter. (But then, we might be too smart to do it.)

[Fred Sanders]

2. Out of 30,000 Iraqi Army led soldiers and mixed Shiite militia fighters, 40 are Iranian advisers.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iraqs-top-shiite-cleric-urges-militias-battling-29609019

[leveymg]

3. It does seem the MSM is making too much out of the Quds

Force presence there, all three dozen of them. Kind of reminds me of the North Vietnamese Navy in the Gulf of Tonkin.

[Fred Sanders]

4. There is a lot of information that swims against the American media main stream misinformation.

You might know about this:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-31885895

[JonLP24]

6. BBC isn't a good place to look if you're avoiding misinformation

Though I can see why a British press would more likely report a story on a Ghandi statue in London than an American press.

Regarding Iran influence or overall oppression of the minority population in northern Iraq isn't something made up out of thin air. I wish the American media actually mentioned this. The KRG helped the Vice President or the highest elected Sunni official flee to Turkey from a political prosecution which he received the death penalty in a trial that took place without him. They do nothing to stop the unregulated Shia militias and who cares what the press thinks, video exists & reports going back to 2006 report on the same thing.

I mean how many Iran advisers do you need? It doesn't discredit the point,


Iraqi Sunni preacher calls for end to Shia revenge attacks in Tikrit

Sheikh Abdel Sattar Abdul Jabbar urges authorities to prevent Shia militias from carrying out revenge attacks on Sunnis in Saddam Hussein’s hometown

A prominent Iraqi Sunni preacher has urged authorities to prevent Shia militias from carrying out revenge attacks on Sunnis in Saddam Hussein’s hometown as they fight alongside government forces to oust Islamic State extremists.

Sheikh Abdel Sattar Abdul Jabbar cited reports of Shia militiamen burning Sunni homes in the battle to win back Tikrit from Isis, and said that if the government failed to stop revenge attacks the country would face renewed sectarian tensions.

“We ask that actions follow words to punish those who are attacking houses in Tikrit,” Abdul Jabbar said during his sermon in Baghdad.

<snip>

The statement came two days after the US news network ABC broadcast photographs and videos that allegedly show Iraqi special forces and militia troops beating and killing civilians in areas that had been retaken from Isis.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/14/iraqi-sunni-preacher-end-shia-revenge-attacks-tikrit

ABC that had cameras there didn't show anything that is unusual regarding Iraq. Shia militias were heavily into kidnapping extortion throughout the years of the Iraq civil war, I wouldn't be surprised if it still happens as it often does in Syria.

[JonLP24]

5. Iran backed militias played a crucial role in creating territory for ISIS

I don't know about this specific one but overall, civilians have legitimate concerns over them. Neighborhoods have been ethnically cleansed by them, civilians punished by them for government opposition.