ISIS threatens Baghdad

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Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury | Published: June 17, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

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The woes of Iraq, historically a land of civilisation in the Arab world, know no bounds. It lands from one crisis to another and this has been particularly noticeable since the toppling of the Saddam Hussein government by the United States-led forces.
As the country remains under the grip of the pro-Western Nouri al-Maliki government, it has of late been jolted by a sensational development. Islamist militants, most of whom are reportedly Sunni, have taken over large swathes of northern Iraq, sending alarm far and wide - from Baghdad to neighbouring Iran and far-away United States.
The reason of concerns in Iran is understandable since the overwhelmingly Shia majority Iran has close ties with the current Shia-led government in Iraq. The anxiety in Washington and its allies is too obvious for the simple reason that they brought about the sea-change in Iraq by toppling the anti-West Saddam regime. The Americans have the biggest stakes in the country. They withdrew their troops, barring a small number of technical and other staff, in 2011 and handed over the security of the trouble-ridden nation to Iraq forces.
But, it was a bizarre scene when many of these forces fled or surrendered to the Islamist militants who took over cities like Mosul and Tikrit in a blazing speed, leaving the government troops bewildered. The development has sent tremors down the spines of the pro-Western government of the country which has vowed to break the backbone of the militants known as the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an outfit which is also involved in the civil war in neighbouring Syria. Needless to say, this group is fighting against the Shia-dominated government of president Bashar al-Assad, which is supported by Tehran, but opposed by the West. In the Syrian imbroglio, Iran and US have divergent positions as far as the ISIS is concerned.
The capture of large areas of northern Iraq by the ISIS, who want to take their battle to Baghdad, has come as a big surprise although Iraq is a fertile ground of clashes and violence in many forms ever since the Western-backed authorities took over the reins of the nation.
The ISIS, the Sunni-dominated group, is believed to be an outfit of former Al-Queda. It broke from the main organisation and is now pursuing its own policies. Even if it had made news earlier in Iraq through several incidents, the latest offensive is something that few had conceived. For, their actions against a million-men strong Iraqi army largely developed by the US, is simply not a matter of joke. True, the army is hobbled by low morale and corruption. Nevertheless, it is a gigantic task for the ISIS fighters to maintain its hold on the captured areas, let alone advancing towards capital Baghdad. However, it is a fast-developing situation and events are taking place in quick succession.
The United States has sent an aircraft carrier to the gulf and kept its options open while President Barack Obama has made it clear that his administration is not sending troops again to Iraq. However, his administration can not close its eyes when the militants opposed to the Western-supported government in Iraq have made spectacular offensive and want to strike at Baghdad. Hence, is the placement of US warships in the  Gulf.
For Iran, it found a rare commonality with long time hostile big power US as both are opposed to the offensive of the ISIS in Iraq. But Iran too is not keen to assist the Baghdad government by sending troops although it has expressed willingness to help otherwise that has not been spelt out. Reports said Tehran has deployed army units close to its border with Iraq as a precautionary measure. Turkey too have stakes in northern Iraq because of the Kurds and Kurdistan issue. All these have made the scene quite complicated. One report said Kurds soldiers moved to Tikrit to fight the ISIS fighters.
The intentions of the ISIS are not clear and their strength also remains unclear. Can they really make further headway towards the capital or hold on to the captured areas. Some reports say that they are quite friendly and lenient with people in the areas they are controlling while putting new Islamic restrictions like banning the alcohol. But some other reports suggest that they have been quite tough with the captured Iraqi soldiers like carrying out summary executions.
It is difficult to assess the overall situation in Iraq because of a myriad of complications. The conditions in Iraq have been made difficult for the non-Shias by the Maliki government because of excessive "Shiaisation" of the administration and particularly security forces. The long civil war in Syria has further complicated the scenario while there is also an impression that interested quarters are keen to further inflame the Shia-Sunni conflict centring the latest development.
 zaglulchowdhury@yahoo.com