Iraq 2015: nowt is simple in this conflict
A new thread for Iraq in 2015 and obviously due to the overlap with the Syrian civil war should be read alongside the 2015 Syrian thread.
The title IMHO reflects how complicated the Iraqi civil war / insurgency is, notably the strange alliance supporting the Iraqi state and the semi-independent role of the Kurds.
A separate thread remains on ISIS, where commentaries on the group are best placed:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ad.php?t=21084
The Impact of Crude’s Collapse on the Islamic State
Money matters and in this very short CTC piece all is explained, although to date action by the coalition appears to have littel impact - leave it to the market! http://combatingterrorismcenter.cmai...9AA49ED5AF8B9E
Fighters’ Code of Conduct
The full title is:
Code of Conduct for Fighters
The Office of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid ʿAli al-Sistani
The Holy City of Najaf February 12, 2015
Advice and Guidelines to the Fighters in the Arena of Jihad
Link:http://1001iraqithoughts.com/2015/02...de-of-conduct/
One wonders if the Shia militia know he wrote this.
Staying together or apart: Iraq's three main communities
An optimistic analysis of how Iraqi politics have changed and what is likely after Daesh (ISIS) is defeated via WoTR:http://warontherocks.com/2015/02/ira.../?singlepage=1
Quote:
Sunnis will be economically, geographically, and politically disempowered for a generation.
In short, the Kurds find themselves stuck with Iraq...
The Shia no easy quote! There is this difficulty though, as we know rumour can replace reality and we have seen similar legends in Afghanistan:
Quote:
...it is commonly believed in southern Iraq that the United States not only refused to help Iraq against ISIL, but is in fact ISIL’s patron and sponsor. This belief is largely a product of conspiracy and paranoia, but does have a strong element of believability at its core from an Iraqi Shi’a perspective. When pressed on this belief, pushing aside rumors of direct aid by the United States, southern Shi’a ask how can the United States permit its allies — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey are usually named — to provide aid and comfort to ISIL as they do? Their explanation is that these states are the middle-men, or proxies, used by the United States to empower ISIL for its own purposes.