War with Isis: Iran joins ‘Great Satan’s’ fight against militants with bombing raids over Iraq

[Jefferson23]

Tehran may have formed an unlikely alliance with its sworn enemy, but a policy of open confrontation and covert co-operation with the US is likely to continue

Patrick Cockburn

Wednesday 03 December 2014



The United States says Iranian F-4 Phantoms have carried out bombing raids against Isis north-east of Baghdad, a claim that appears to be confirmed by film of the aircraft taken from the ground.

Iran, however, denies that any of its planes are carrying out combat missions in Iraq. The raids are said to have taken place in Diyala province on the border with Iran, where there has been heavy fighting for months between Isis fighters, Shia militias and Kurdish Peshmerga. Isis has recently been driven out of the towns of Jalawla and Saadiyah.

An Iraqi security expert, Hisham al-Hashimi, told a news agency that 10 days ago: “Iranian planes hit some targets in Diyala. Of course, the government denies it because they have no radars.” Film appears to show an F-4 in action, a type of aircraft only used by Iran and Turkey.

It is not clear why Iran should have used its air force for the first time in Iraq, though it has been giving heavy publicity to the role of Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, in inspiring and organising Shia militias.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-launches-piloted-air-strikes-against-isis-flying-in-to-iraqi-airspace-for-first-time-9899487.html

[bemildred]

1. This is getting fascinating, Jeff.

I believe our friends the Saudis are provoking the long overdue re-engagement between the USA and Iran with their "clever" ISIS strategy.

The revolution in Yemen ties in to this too, those Houthis are supported by Iran.

I've been waiting about ten years now for Saudi Arabia to blow up, we may finally be getting there.

And of course, Bibi, well it's a classic case of provoking what you are trying to prevent.

[Jefferson23]

2. You're right on the money..I feel. The situation is as ripe as ever.

So true about Bibi too.

[bemildred]

3. Iran versus the Islamic State By Brian M Downing

Baghdad's pleas for American support presented a dilemma. Iran wanted better relations with the US but mistrusted it and worried about the reintroduction of US troops into Iraq. IRGC support against IS reduces Baghdad's reliance on the US, Western powers, and Sunni states in the region - all of whom are involved in Iraq, chiefly in delivering armaments and in the air war.

Intervention strengthens ties with the Kurds of Iraq. Iran and Kurdistan have better relations than might be expected. Iran has armed and supported Iraqi Kurds for decades as they have drawn off tens of thousands of Iraqi troops that might otherwise have been deployed against Iranian forces. Kurds in Iran (sometimes called "East Kurdistan&quot are waging a low-level insurgency against Tehran, but Iran and Kurdistan remain on good terms - probably in the hope of limiting cooperation between the Kurdish regions.

Iran is in competition with the US and Israel over Kurdistan. Those two powers also supported Iraqi Kurds against Saddam, and Iran does not want to see Kurdistan become too close to them. That would allow the US and Israel to use Kurdistan as a base of operations against Iran one day. Iran has allowed Kurdistan oil to be exported through Iranian ports; neither the US nor Israel can be of help here.

Iran is positioned to manage the conflict between Kurdistan and the Iraqi government. Erbil and Baghdad have come close to war in recent years over oil revenues, but tensions have eased or at least been temporarily subordinated to fighting IS. Erbil and Baghdad recently inked an agreement on revenue-sharing. Its full and continued implementation may prove elusive.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-02-041214.html

Essentially, ISIS, by its successes, is forcing the various parties in the region to disambiguate their contradictory foreign policies, and everybody who meddles in the region is being affected similarly. And the fact is, if you want a large local power to kick some ass militarily, there are only a few choices, and to take on something like ISIS over the long haul, there is one: Iran. Nobody else is big, stable, experienced, and rich enough to do the job.

"Combat creates clarity" as the cliche goes.

That's Iran and Uncle Sugar. Bibi is just confused and wrapped up in his own bullshit. His mistake was underestimating Obama and misunderstanding his place.

Edit: and somebody is going to mention Turkey, and the problem there is that Turkey is not interested in the job. In fact, they've been enabling ISIS, allowing them to operate in Turkey.

[Jefferson23]

4. Yea, Turkey has been discussed by Cockburn enabling ISIS..to name one. The Shrub did a number

on Iran with his axis of evil bullshit declaration....so stupid but true to his form. He was such
a horrific president, as we all know..but it really keeps coming back at us. It did not have to be that
way with Iran, such lost opportunities.

Nevertheless, here we are, and it has to be Iran..who else could it be? Even Kissinger referred
to Iran as a "natural" ally to the US now..although quietly.

My sincere sympathy for the Iranian people: The Iranian public sees its contribution in the war on IS and religious extremism as important yet unappreciated, both in the region and in the West. Their country receives no respect or sanctions relief, only military alliances against it and the prospect of stiffer sanctions.

Iran may be able to manage more leverage out of this..I hope they can, since Obama wants very much an agreement
on the nuke issues, so we'll see.

Thanks for the link, bemidred.

[bemildred]

5. And Yemen:

Saudi Arabia reportedly suspends aid to Yemen over Houthi takeover

Saudi Arabia has suspended most of its financial aid to Yemen, Yemeni and Western sources said, in a clear indication of its dissatisfaction with the growing political power of Shia Houthi fighters friendly with Riyadh's regional rival, Iran.

Yemen, which is battling an an Al-Qaeda insurgency, a southern secessionist movement, endemic corruption and poor governance, has often relied on its richer northern neighbor to help finance everything from government salaries to welfare payments.

But soon after Houthi fighters took over the capital Sanaa in September, Sunni Saudi Arabia promptly suspended much of that aid, concerned the rebels will use their military muscle to dominate domestic politics and project Iran's influence.

The Saudis also fear the movement's strong emphasis on Zaydi Shia rights will aggravate sectarian tensions that Al-Qaeda could exploit to carve out more space in Sunni areas and launch attacks against the Kingdom.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/4/saudi-yemen-aid.html

We seem to be cooperating with the Houthis in fighting AQAP in Yemen, too, which serves Iran's interests.

[Jefferson23]

6. Shaking in their boots the Saudis....is that too strong? Considering what control freaks they

are, I don't think that's a stretch.

[bemildred]

8. Witholding the money is unlikely to restore order.

I have been wondering for some time where the Houthis are getting their arms from, and I've heard that they have been trained by Hezbollah and IRGC. They suddenly got very effective.

The Saudis have many problems and a tempestuous succession fight coming up.

[candelista]

7. I'm gonna wait for confirmation.

This is probably b.s.

[bemildred]

11. Iran confirms it carried out air strikes against Islamic State extremists in Iraq

A senior Iranian official confirmed on Friday his country had conducted air strikes against Islamic State (Isis) extremists in Iraq, saying the action was carried out at the request of the Baghdad government but was not coordinated with the US.

The deputy foreign minister, Ebrahim Rahimpour said the purpose of the strikes was “the defence of the interests of our friends in Iraq” who he defined as the Baghdad government and the Kurdish autonomous region in the north of the country, who are both fighting the Isis movement.

“In this matter, we did not have any coordination with the Americans. We have coordinated only with the Iraqi government,” Rahimpour told the Guardian, in an interview in London. “In general, every military operation to help the Iraqi government is according to their requests.

“We will not allow conditions in Iraq to descend to the level of Syria, which has been created by foreign players. And certainly our assistance [to Iraq] is stronger than our assistance to Syria, because they are nearer to us.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/05/iran-conducts-air-strikes-against-isis-exremists-iraq

[JayhawkSD]

9. So Syria, Iran and various US forces are fighting ISIS

and it's all uncoordinated because the US refuses to speak to either Syria or Iran, even though they are actually functioning as allies. What can possibly go wrong?

Reminds me of an incident between a Marine fighter and an Air Force fighter in the Battle of Grenada who found themselves flying together after an attack. They were, unfortunately, using different frequencies, so could communicate only by hand signals. The Marina had taken some hits, so he gestured the Air Force guy to look him over. The Air Force pilot circled below him and saw that all was well so he pulled up beside the Marine and held up one thumb. He was utterly astonished when the Marine promptly ejected from his perfectly good fighter jet. Turns out in the Marine Corps the thumbs up is not a signal for "everything's okay," which is what it means most places, but is the signal for "the plane is terminal, bail out."

[bemildred]

10. Well, it's not that simple, but yeah.

It's all very Hobbesian at this point, which is what you get with a power vacuum. Fighting what is nominally the same organization in one place while helping/supporting it somewhere else, pretending to be enemies with allies and allies with enemies is going on a lot too. What it really looks like to me is loss of control and fragmentation of lines of command. No surprise.

Nice story, sounds about right, I like things in writing, myself.