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Business News/ News / World/  Battle lines harden in Iraq as US relocates carrier
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Battle lines harden in Iraq as US relocates carrier

Shiite leaders urge supporters to rally against an extremist Sunni insurgency as the US ordered an aircraft carrier to head into the Arabian Gulf

Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called on citizens to be ready to shoulder the burden and join the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Photo: AP Premium
Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called on citizens to be ready to shoulder the burden and join the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Photo: AP

Dubai/Washington/Riyadh/London/Cairo: Iraq’s sectarian battle lines hardened as Shiite leaders urged supporters to rally against an extremist Sunni insurgency, as the US ordered an aircraft carrier to head into the Arabian Gulf.

US President Barack Obama has said he’s weighing his options on how to aid the fight, and the Pentagon today in dispatching the USS George H.W. Bush said it will provide the commander-in-chief additional flexibility should military options be required to protect American lives, citizens and interests in Iraq.

The carrier will be accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun, the Pentagon’s press secretary, Rear Admiral John Kirby, said.

The ships are expected to arrive later today, he said.

The movements provide the US with a floating base within short flying distance of Iraq, in case US aircraft based at fields in Qatar, Kuwait and other locations aren’t allowed to fly missions for political reasons.

In Iraq, Ammar al-Hakim, head of the country’s Shiite Islamic Supreme Council, volunteered to fight the insurgents, as a spokesman for Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, the top Shiite religious leader, said Iraqis should combat terror.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on citizens to be ready to shoulder the burden and join the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Iran help

Iran, a Shiite ally, stands ready to help should the Iraqi government ask for assistance, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said today at a televised news conference. At the same time, a key Sunni Muslim tribal leader said his forces are helping the government battle the militants, the first indication that Maliki retains some support among the minority Sunni population.

ISIL, which has also been fighting Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria’s civil war, captured the northern Iraqi towns of Mosul and Tikrit earlier this week as the army abandoned its bases. Its advance through the country, abetted by Sunni factions of Saddam Hussein’s former Baathist regime and tribal groups disillusioned with the Shiite-led government, highlights the breakdown of central authority and raises the prospect of the country disintegrating.

Symbolic visit

In a symbolic move, Maliki yesterday traveled to Samarra, 120km northwest of Baghdad, where Iraqi government forces were battling to repel ISIL fighters. The destruction of a Shiite mosque by Sunni insurgents in the city in 2006 sparked a sectarian war that peaked a year later.

Dozens of Iraqis were seen gathering at centres in Baghdad today to volunteer in the fight against ISIL, in footage aired by Sky News Arabia. The recruits will face militants whose firepower may be strengthened by the equipment they have access to after seizing army bases in Mosul, cash from the city’s banks, and the release of 2,500 fighters from local jails, Eurasia Group, a New York-based political risk consultancy, said by email on 11 June.

Sheikh Ahmed Abu Risha, the Sunni tribal leader who’s backing the government, said the country urgently needs the US to intervene in the conflict.

‘American support’

“We’ve been fighting al-Qaeda in Anbar for the past six months and we’re ready to fight for another six months, but we need American support," he said in a phone interview today from Ramadi in western Iraq. “The US must take the decision to stage air strikes against the militants or send troops again to Iraq, even if it’s for a limited time."

Abu Risha leads the Awakening Council in Anbar province. Also known as The Sahwa or the Sons of Iraq, the councils were organized by the American military to fight al-Qaeda during the civil war and their decision to turn against the terror network was hailed by the US as key to a decline in violence.

Sunnis are a majority in Anbar province and in areas to the north of Baghdad, while Shiites account for the majority in the south, where 60% of the country’s oil wealth resides. Iraq is OPEC’s second biggest crude producer.

Abu Risha’s support of Maliki may not be matched by other Sunni groups, according to Theodore Karasik, director of research and consultancy at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai.

‘Powerful triangulation’

The discourse that is running in Iraq right now seems to be favouring the Sunnis who are against al-Maliki because of the powerful triangulation between Sunni tribes, ISIL and disgruntled members of the old Saddam regime, he said. That would prevent the majority of Sunnis from supporting al-Maliki in a violent struggle.

Many awakening councils are siding with ISIL because it represents to them a force that can be used to garner greater Sunni rights, Karasik said.

Explaining the US position yesterday, Obama said the country’s problems aren’t solely, or even primarily, a military challenge, and called on Iraq’s leaders to unite.

This should be a wake-up call; Iraq’s leaders have to demonstrate a willingness to make hard decisions and compromises on behalf of the Iraqi people in order to bring the country together, Obama said. “We can’t do it for them."

At today’s news conference, Iran’s Rouhani said he and Obama have official and unofficial channels of communication that they use, though they haven’t done so in relation to the current crisis in Iraq.

“America hasn’t acted on this situation yet," Rouhani said. “Whenever the US makes a move, then we can think about cooperation with them in Iraq." Bloomberg

Nicole Gaouette, Kathleen Hunter, David Lerman and Margaret Talev in Washington, Mike Anderson in Singapore and Mark Deen in Paris contributed to this story.

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Published: 14 Jun 2014, 10:52 PM IST
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