Irak

Videota Badr brigaden ISIS:n vastaisesta taistelusta. Uskomattoman amatöörimäistä puuhastelua. Badr on SCIRI -puolueen (Irakin islamilaisen vallankumouksen ylin neuvosto) aseellinen siipi jolla on vahvat kytkökset Iraniin.

Embedded media from this media site is no longer available
 
Homma etenee Ramadissa.
Iraqi military: Iraqi forces retake 60% of Ramadi from ISIS
By Greg Botelho, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Tim Hume, CNN
Updated 0054 GMT (0854 HKT) December 9, 2015 | Video Source: CNN

More than half of Ramadi -- the Iraqi city whose sudden fall to ISIS raised questions about Baghdad's ability to combat the terror group -- is now back in Iraqi control after a big push this week, the country's military said.

The inroads came after Iraqi troops, counterterrorism unit members and federal police officers targeted ISIS militants from three sides in a 24-hour period, aided by U.S.-led airstrikes.

Iraq's Joint Military Command reported 60% of the Anbar province city had been retaken, including a one-time Iraqi military headquarters in northern Ramadi, as well as western and southern parts of the city.

Dozens of ISIS fighters died in the operation, according to the military. It wasn't immediately clear if there were any Iraqi casualties. Iraqi troops also managed to confiscate a large amount of weaponry.

U.S. Central Command said it had launched six strikes Monday around Ramadi, hitting two ISIS tactical units and destroying weaponry, ammunition and supply caches, buildings and a vehicle.


Symbolic importance

Besides its strategic significance, Ramadi -- some 120 kilometers (75 miles) west of Baghdad in the Sunni heartland -- has symbolic importance in Iraq's fight against ISIS.

Iraqi forces withdrew en masse from the city in May, a pullout regarded as a huge setback to the anti-ISIS campaign, and spurred U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter to question whether the Iraqis lacked the "will to fight."

Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, later said Carter had bad information. And Salim al-Jabouri, speaker of the Iraqi parliament and arguably the country's most powerful Sunni politician, said that even the Prime Minister didn't know of the withdrawal until after it happened.

The city was one of "three R's" identified as the core of a triple-pronged U.S. strategy against ISIS that Carter floated before U.S. lawmakers in October. The others were raids by special forces, and Raqqa, the extremists' de-facto capital in Syria.


ISIS tries to keep residents from fleeing

This embarrassment has made retaking Ramadi a focus for Iraqi forces, who have been battling ISIS on several fronts. The terror group has taken over vast swaths of Iraq and neighboring Syria while creating what it calls the Islamic State in addition to inspiring and carrying out attacks elsewhere.

Starting last month, Iraqi forces began dropping leaflets on Ramadi urging people to leave ahead of a promised military offensive.

"To our people in the city of Ramadi, evacuate your families from the city immediately and go to the south through al Hameera area," the leaflets read, according to the Iraqi military.

But leaving isn't necessarily easy. Ramadi residents told CNN on Monday night that ISIS had set up additional checkpoints around the city to prevent people from fleeing.

"Daesh made it very clear to all of us that anyone who tries to flee the city will be considered an apostate. And you know what they will do to an apostate," said one resident, referring to ISIS' practice of detaining and killing those who don't accept its extreme ideology.

Another told CNN that most people were unable to leave due to the threat of being caught fleeing by ISIS.

"(I'm) not going to take the risk," he said. "The government is not proving us any guarantees that we will be safe during our trip south."


U.S. wants Iraqis to 'move as rapidly as possible'

The Iraqis began pushing last spring, right after Ramadi fell. That didn't yield immediate results.

In October, Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition, told reporters that "we now believe the battlefield conditions are set" for Iraqi forces to take back Ramadi.

At that point, Iraqi forces had established positions in the city's suburbs, he said.

"We'd like to see them move as rapidly as possible," Warren said then. "We believe now is the time for the final push into Ramadi."


Tensions simmer over Turkish troops

The assault on Ramadi came amid increasing tensions between Iraq and Turkey over Turkish forces stationed near Mosul, another ISIS-held Iraqi city.

The troops arrived with armored vehicles Thursday at a camp in territory held by Iraqi Kurds near Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city.

Turkey has said the troops are there to protect a mission to train and advise Iraqi forces in their fight against ISIS. It said the forces have been operating in the region at the request of Iraq's government.

But Iraq's government insists that it never invited the Turkish forces and that their presence constitutes a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

Abadi, Iraq's Prime Minister, spoke on the phone Tuesday with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, rejecting the presence of the Turkish troops and calling for them to withdraw immediately, according to a statement from Abadi's office. Turkey is a member of NATO.

Abadi also spoke to Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq that governs over a semiautonomous region in Iraq's north, about the presence of the Turkish troops, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's office.

Barzani had "stressed that Iraq's sovereignty is a red line for us" and that his government stood with anyone who helped in the fight against ISIS, but not without the preservation of sovereignty, according to the statement.


Three Turkish bases in Iraq

The Kurdistan Regional Government said Saturday that Turkey had opened three military training bases in Iraq in late 2014 -- two for Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the Kurdish region's Soran and Qalacholan districts and a third for other Iraqi forces near Mosul. Military and logistical equipment had been transferred to the Mosul base in recent days to expand its capacity, a statement said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday that Turkey has a duty to protect its soldiers around Mosul, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT. But the country would halt sending troops to Iraq, the country's semiofficial Anadolu Agency reported over the weekend, citing Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

He also expressed that Turkey would continue to support Iraq's fight against ISIS, according to the report.
Klikkaa laajentaaksesi...
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/08/middleeast/isis-iraq-syria/


ISIS motitti itse itsensä.
ISIS Destroys Bridge as Iraqi Forces Close in on Ramadi
  • By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA AND SUSANNAH GEORGE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD — Dec 10, 2015, 10:23 AM ET

Besieged Islamic State militants in the Iraqi city of Ramadi destroyed a lock on the Euphrates River that served as a bridge as government forces on Thursday sought to cement their gains around the militant-held city west of Baghdad.

Since Iraq's military launched its push on Ramadi earlier this month, the militants have destroyed all other bridges leading into the city, both on the Euphrates and its tributary, the Warar River.

Iraqi Maj Gen. Ismail al-Mahlawi, the head of military operations in the western Anbar province, said the lock destroyed Thursday was the last remaining bridge from the city center to the northwest.

"Daesh forces trying to stop our progress bombed the last bridge which connects the city center," he said, referring to IS by its Arabic language acronym.

The locks' destruction leaves some 300 IS fighters trapped in the center of the city, he added.

Col. Steven Warren, the spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad, said the destruction of the bridge may prove to be a tactical mistake for IS.

"What they've also done now is they've really cut themselves off," he said. "So the fighters left on the north side of the river can't retreat and the fighters on the south side of the river can't send reinforcements."

Muhannad Haimour, the spokesman for the Anbar governor's office, said he received reports from residents still inside Ramadi that IS was also destroying buildings and radio towers.

"We've seen this before; they tend to blow up not just bridges, but a lot of infrastructure inside the city," Haimour said.

Haimour added that according to reports he received, about two months ago IS fighters began moving their families out of Ramadi and toward the town of Hit northwest of Ramadi. That, he said is when he believes the tide began to turn against the IS group in the Anbar provincial capital.

A key factor that changed the sluggish pace of the battle for Ramadi, Haimour said, was a decision by the central government in Baghdad to arm Sunni tribal fighters from the Ramadi area to fight against IS.

"They didn't feel like they had enough support from the coalition and the central government, but all of that changed a few months ago," Haimour said. Now, there are 8,500 members from Anbar mobilized, trained, armed and receiving salaries.

While Iraqi forces were consolidating their gains, Warren, the coalition spokesman, said they also successfully repelled a number of IS counter-attacks Thursday with "significant" coalition air support.

In a statement, the U.S.-led coalition said six airstrikes targeted IS units, boats and fighting positions near Ramadi on Wednesday. Over the past week coalition planes have launched 36 strikes near Ramadi.

But as the operation to retake the provincial capital progresses, Ramadi's sizeable civilian population — estimated to be between 4,000 and 10,000 — remains mostly trapped inside the city. Iraqi officials say they believe civilians will be able to flee the city, but coalition officials report that so far they have only witnessed small groups do so.

IS captured Ramadi in May and though the government immediately announced a counter-offensive, progress in retaking the Sunni heartland of Anbar has been slow. Iraqi forces, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, pushed into Ramadi earlier this week, capturing a military complex north of the city and a neighborhood on its outskirts.
Klikkaa laajentaaksesi...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/destroys-bridge-iraqi-forces-close-ramadi-35689658


ISIS on kehittynyt myös IED:n käytössä.
Islamic State Lays Booby Traps in Ramadi
Iraqi officials say the planting of explosives is delaying an offensive to retake the city

By
KAREN LEIGH And
GHASSAN ADNAN
Updated Dec. 6, 2015 6:45 p.m. ET

BAGHDAD—Islamic State is laying sophisticated booby traps in Ramadi to thwart an Iraqi offensive, with devices that can trigger an explosive domino effect and snipers who target bomb-disposal experts, military officials said on Sunday.

After seizing Ramadi in May, the militants connected large, scattered webs of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, to one trigger wire, expanding the reach of an individual bomb. Iraqi military officials said the booby traps are delaying an offensive to retake the city.

“All of the delays we’re having, the reason was the heavy planting of IEDs,” said Gen. Hattem Al Magsosi, the head of the army’s Explosive Ordnance Division.

Islamic State’s use of IEDs has allowed small groups of insurgents to maintain control of cities against overwhelming numbers of troops, Iraqi military officials said.

Iraqi personnel have come to anticipate such traps after recent battles such as the November operation in the northern city of Sinjar. The Ramadi operation, backed by a U.S.-led air coalition, was expected to closely follow the victory in Sinjar, when Kurdish-led forces routed the militants and dismantled roughly 1,000 IEDs.

But the offensive to retake one of the militant group’s biggest strongholds has stalled repeatedly. Iraqi forces cite IEDs as the latest reason the fighting for the heart of the city hasn’t yet begun.

Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition in Iraq, said U.S. forces aren’t present on the ground in Ramadi to evaluate the situation, but they stand behind Iraqi officials’ assessment.

The Iraqi army’s attempt to retake the city after a decisive Islamic State victory there in May is widely seen as a test of preparedness for a planned future offensive in Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city and the most populous under the group’s control.

Ramadi, about 60 miles west of the capital of Baghdad, is surrounded by farmland that is also now heavily fortified with IEDs.

In recent months, Islamic State laid a new layer of IEDs alongside the ones it placed after it took the city last spring, leaving Iraqi security forces with even more deadly explosives to defuse than in previous battles with the extremist group.

“For sure, there will be new ways in Ramadi,” said Ammar Sadoun, an Explosive Ordnance Division engineer advising on operations in the city. “Today they’re using cellphone IEDs. By the time we figure out how to stop that, they’ll have the next thing,” he said, speaking at the EOD’s base near Baghdad’s international airport.

Last year, Mr. Sadoun’s right leg was severed below the knee while he worked to dismantle an IED in the contested refinery city of Beiji. He had fallen victim to one of Islamic State’s ploys that target engineers. The army calls it “double bluffing”—remotely exploding a hidden device as the man works to dismantle a clearly marked twin.

“They use tricks,” he said. “Always they are a step ahead of you, no matter how smart you are.”

The army must also operate with shrinking ranks of EOD specialists, whose engineers dismantle the bombs in the field. Casualties and deserters are mounting while new recruits are discouraged by the job’s extreme risk.

One of the greatest dangers is snipers picking off bomb-disposal experts, said Ghanim Abdul Jawad, commander of a unit fighting in Ramadi.

“We do expect that we’re going to suffer more than before because we’re short IED experts,” he said.

Of the 200 experts in Mr. Jawad’s unit, 25 have been killed and 60 injured since the fight against Islamic State began in 2014, he said.

“We kept on demanding that army commanders send more explosives-disposal teams to Ramadi,” said Ibrahim al-Fahdawi, head of security in Khaldiya, an area southeast of Ramadi. “But nothing happened.”

—Matt Bradley and Ben Kesling contributed to this article.
Klikkaa laajentaaksesi...
http://www.wsj.com/articles/roadside-bombs-snipers-delay-ramadi-offensive-1449427231
 
Eikö olisi kaikkein järkevintä motittaa ISIS ja tuhota taistelijat viimeiseen mieheen? Ei raakalaisille armoa pidä antaa.
 
RKSTAK kirjoitti:
Eikö olisi kaikkein järkevintä motittaa ISIS ja tuhota taistelijat viimeiseen mieheen? Ei raakalaisille armoa pidä antaa.
Klikkaa laajentaaksesi...

Tuo on epäilemättä tarkoitus, ongelmana on vain tuollaiseen tarvittava miesmäärä.


Mutta itse mietin sellaista, että kun daeshinien kontrolloivat seudut näyttävät puhtaasti seurailevan tiettyjä teitä, eikä juuri sen laajemmalle, niin voisikohan jenkit (sikäli kun päättäisivät lähettää ukkoja tuonne) koettaa käyttää tilannetta hyväksi? Järjestää jonkinlaisen väijytyksen jollekin hieman syrjäisemmälle tienpätkälle. Järjestetään vaikka erikoisjoukkoja tarkastamaan kuorma-autoja aseiden ja ammusten varalta ihan vain sen takia, että daeshinien on käytännössä pakko lähettää joku porukka ajamaan ne pois, ja kun tämä porukka on matkalla tuonne, niin ne joutuvat väijytykseen. Tämän jälkeen erikoisjoukot häipyvät paikalta.
 
Viimeksi muokattu:
Irakilaisten MI-35 tuhoaa ISIS Hummerin.

Embedded media from this media site is no longer available
 
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/iraq-hero-sas-sniper-kills-three-isis-suicide-bombers-one-shot-mosul-659425

Iraq: Hero SAS sniper kills three Isis suicide bombers with one shot in Mosul
  • By Johnlee Varghese
    | Updated: December 14, 2015 17:57 IST
  • http://www.ibtimes.co.in/iraq-hero-...bombers-one-shot-mosul-659425#ibtimes_comment


    1450096042_sas-sniper.jpg

    A SAS sniper team in position. [Representational Pic]Reuters File
    A British sniper, who averted an Isis suicide bombing by killing five Islamic State terrorists near Mosul in Iraq, is being hailed a hero, reports said. He reportedly killed three Isis terrorists with one shot.

    According to the Mirror, the Isis jihadis were taken out by an SAS veteran after he spotted them exiting a Daesh bomb-making factory in Mosul. The only information available about the sniper is that he has been with SAS for over a decade.


    According to army sources, the SAS sniper was on an intel-gathering mission near the Isis bomb factory in Mosul to help British RAF jets with their airstrikes when he spotted men wearing heavy coats despite the hot weather.

    The sharp-shooter then informed the command centre about the situation and was given a "go-ahead", reports said.

    During the dramatic shooting, the sniper was able to kill three people with one shot after the first shot detonated the suicide vest of an Isis jihadist.

    The second shot, fired from the distance of 800 metres, was a headshot, while the final shot again hit the explosive vest of a Daesh terrorist.

    According to The Daily Mail, the SAS sniper saved the lives of hundreds of innocent people by firing three well-aimed shots at the jihadists.
 
Bushmaster kirjoitti:
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/iraq-hero-sas-sniper-kills-three-isis-suicide-bombers-one-shot-mosul-659425

Iraq: Hero SAS sniper kills three Isis suicide bombers with one shot in Mosul
  • By Johnlee Varghese
    | Updated: December 14, 2015 17:57 IST



  • 1450096042_sas-sniper.jpg

    A SAS sniper team in position. [Representational Pic]Reuters File
    A British sniper, who averted an Isis suicide bombing by killing five Islamic State terrorists near Mosul in Iraq, is being hailed a hero, reports said. He reportedly killed three Isis terrorists with one shot.

    According to the Mirror, the Isis jihadis were taken out by an SAS veteran after he spotted them exiting a Daesh bomb-making factory in Mosul. The only information available about the sniper is that he has been with SAS for over a decade.


    According to army sources, the SAS sniper was on an intel-gathering mission near the Isis bomb factory in Mosul to help British RAF jets with their airstrikes when he spotted men wearing heavy coats despite the hot weather.

    The sharp-shooter then informed the command centre about the situation and was given a "go-ahead", reports said.

    During the dramatic shooting, the sniper was able to kill three people with one shot after the first shot detonated the suicide vest of an Isis jihadist.

    The second shot, fired from the distance of 800 metres, was a headshot, while the final shot again hit the explosive vest of a Daesh terrorist.

    According to The Daily Mail, the SAS sniper saved the lives of hundreds of innocent people by firing three well-aimed shots at the jihadists.
Klikkaa laajentaaksesi...


En pitäisi "satojen" henkien pelastamista varmana, mutta kyllä se on mahdollista.
 
The Ulkopolist:in arvio Irakin poliittisesta tilanteesta: http://ulkopolitist.fi/2015/12/15/irakin-poliittinen-tilanne/ (Jussi Heinonkoski).

Kuva on itse asiassa melkoisen synkeä viimeaikojen saavutetuista sotilaallisista voitoista huolimatta, poliittinen tilanne on tulenarka samalla tapaa kuin taloudellinen tilanne on hyvin epävarmalla pohjalla. Irakin talouden ja budjetin kannalta öljyn hintakehitys ei lupaa hyvää - hinnan pitäisi olla aivan jotain muuta mitä se tällä hetkellä on.

"IRAKIN POLIITTINEN TILANNE

Irak ja etenkin maan turvallisuustilanne on ollut tänä syksynä tapetilla Suomessa maasta saapuneiden turvapaikanhakijoiden muodossa aina sosiaalisesta mediasta iltapäivälehtiin ja Helsingin Sanomien kuukausiliitteeseen. Mutta mikä on tänä päivänä maan poliittinen tilanne lajeemmin? Noin vuosi sitten kävimme näillä sivuilla läpi tuolloin hiljattain pääministerikautensa aloittaneen Haider al-Abadin haasteita työssään. On siis aika suorittaa katsaus pääministerin ensimmäiseen vuoteen ja kysyä, miten ja mikä maassa on mahdollisesti muuttunut?

Sisäpolitiikka ja taistelu Isisiä vastaan

Viime vuonna kautensa aloittanut pääministeri Haider al-Abadi on ollut valtavien – ja kriittisesti, rakenteellisten – haasteiden edessä. Mosulin valtaus Isiksen toimesta vuoden 2014 kesäkuussa käynnisti Nuri al-Malikin lähtölaskennan osoittamalla Irakin armeijan rakenteelliset ongelmat ja niistä johtuneen operatiivisen kyvyttömyyden. Uuden pääministerin ensimmäisiä hankkeita olikin lakiehdotus niin sanotusta kansalliskaartista, jonka tarkoituksena oli paitsi luoda turvallisuuskoneistolle uusi organisaatio, myös muodostaa yksi väylä eri uskontokuntien edustajien, etenkin sunnien, integroimiseksi kansallisen instituution (ja identiteetin) yhteyteen. Lakiehdotus kuitenkin kaatui viimeistään tämän vuoden syyskuussa Irania lähellä olevien aseellisten shiialiikkeiden, kuten Kataib Hizbollahin, Nuri al-Malikiin linkitetyn Asa’ib Ahl al-Haqin sekä Badr-organisaation painostuksesta, joista viimeiseimmän Badr-prikaatit olivat yhtenä merkittävänä tekijänä vuosien 2005–2008 Bagdadiin keskittyneessä sektaarisessa väkivallassa.

Osana Isisiä vastaan taistelevia, ja etenkin Mosulin valtauksen tiimoilta hajoamistilassa ollutta armeijaa ja turvallisuusjoukkoja pönkittämään perustettuja Irakin kansan mobilisaatiojoukkoja (hashd al-shaabi) nämä järjestöt olivat nousseet valtiolliseen armeijaan verrattavaan statukseen. Tämä heijastui myös pääministeri al-Abadin puheessa YK:n yleiskokouksessa viime syyskuussa, missä hän erikseen – aiemmasta, ulkovaltiollisiin aseellisiin ryhmiin esittämästään skeptisyydestä poiketen – mainitsi kansan mobilisaatiojoukkojen olevan osa valtiota. Etenkin Tikritin ja Baijintaisteluissa (Iranin Quds-joukkojen sekä – vastentahtoisesti ja suuren valituksen seuraamana – myös Yhdysvaltain ja sen liittolaisten ilmaiskujen avustamana) vaikuttaneista mobilisaatiojoukoista on siis nopeasti kehittynyt paitsi osa Irakin turvallisuuskoneistoa myös merkittävä poliittinen voima, jota al-Abadi ei voi helposti ohittaa. Tätä on valtiollinen status vailla valtiollista vastuuta.

Poliittisen ja kansallisen yhtenäisyyden kannalta sunnialueilla toimivat, valtioon tiiviisti liitettyjen aseellisten shiiaryhmien toiminta on ollut perin ongelmallista; esimerkiksi Human Rights Watchinraportoimat kidnappaukset ja talojen tuhoamiset Tikritissä nakertavat luottamusta keskushallintoa ja Bagdadia kohtaan, jonka koetaan olevan haluton tai ainakin kyvytön rankaisemaan syyllisiä. Tilanne on tältä osin tuttu Nuri al-Malikin pääministerikaudelta, eikä sunniväestön huolten ja poliittisen agendan näkymättömyys maan politiikan huipulla yhtään auta asiaa. Isisin jälkeisen Irakin kannalta sektarisoitumisen jatkuminen edelleen on perin huolestuttava piirre, joka tulee aiheuttamaan ongelmia.

Turvallisuuspolitiikka ja taistelu Isistä vastaan dominoi al-Abadin ensimmäistä pääministerivuotta ja ensimmäisiä näiden ulkopuolisia merkittäviä poliittisia aloitteita saatiin odottaa loppukesään 2015, jolloin pääministeri elokuussa ilmoitti poliittisista uudistuksista. Näihin kuuluivat, osin heikomman taloustilanteen motivoimana, mm. varapresidenttien (3 kpl, ml. Nuri al-Maliki) sekä varapääministeiden (niin ikään 3 kpl) virkojen lakkauttamisen määräämiset (mielenkiintoista kyllä, perustuslain vastaisesti) sekä laajemmat ja tärkeämpi lupaus sektaarisuuteen pohjautuvan vallanjakojärjestelmän jonkinlaisesta alasajosta. Tukea (ja aiemmin painetta) hän sai huonoihin ja puutteellisiin julkisiin palveluihin sekä korruptioon kyllästyneiden kansalaistenmielenosoituksista, joiden osallistujat joutuivat kuitenkin pian pettymään.

Lopullisesti al-Abadin ns. uudistuspyrkimykset hautautuivat viime kuun alussa, kun maan parlamentti päätti äänestettyään olla myöntämättä pääministerille lupaa toteuttaa uudistuksia konsultoimatta parlamenttia. Muodollisesti päätös oli helppo perustella, sillä perustuslaissa määrätään presidentille vähintään yksi varapresidentti, eikä varapresidenttien nimittämistä ja erottamista määrittelevä laki anna pääministerille prosessissa roolia. Perustuslain rikkominen ei tosin aiemmin ole Saddam Husseinin jälkeisessä Irakissa estänyt pääministeriä toimimasta haluamallaan tavalla.

Raadollisemmat syyt löytyvätkin al-Abadin shiiataustaisista poliittisista kilpailijoista (ml. hänen oman Oikeusvaltio-koalitionsa Maliki-Badr -siipi), jotka kokivat (todennäköisesti oikein) al-Abadin tavoittelevan autonomisempaa asemaa ja pyrkivän siten marginalisoimaan kansan mobilisaatiojoukkoja, jonka jäsenistä myös Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq kritisoi uudistushankkeita. Toisaalta pääministeri ei kyennyt saamaan tyytymättömiä kansalaisia puolelleen luvattuaan liikaa suhteessa toimitusmahdollisuuksiinsa, mikä yhdistettynä hallituksen epäselviin lausuntoihin talouskurin aiheuttamista julkisen sektorin palkanleikkauksista tahrasi uudistusten alkuperäisen positiivisen kuvan.

Mutta mikä mahtaakaan olla se taloudellinen tilanne, joka ajaa pääministerin talouskurin oppeihin?

Taloudelliset haasteet

Irak täyttää kirkkaasti rentieerivaltion tunnusmerkit sillä valtion ylivoimaisesti tärkein tulonlähde on öljyteollisuus, joka muodostaa liki 99% maan talousviennistä,43% BKT:sta ja 90% valtion tulo. Ei siis ole ihme, että viime vuoden syksyllä käynnistynyt, ja sinällään pääministeristä riippumaton, öljyn hinnan roima lasku on lisännyt Irakin julkisen talouden haasteita merkittävästi. Aivan viime aikoina uutiset tällä rintamalla ovat synkentyneet entisestään. Joulukuun alussa Wienin päämajassa järjestetty OPECin kokous päättyi kaoottiseksi kuvattuihin tunnelmiin kun öljynvientimaiden järjestön jäsenet eivät päässeet yhteisymmärrykseen edes tuotantokatosta. Tämän seurauksena öljyn hinta on käynyt alhaisimmissa lukemissa sitten globaalin finanssikriisin akuuteimman vaiheen vuosina 2008–2009. Toistaiseksi mikään ei ennakoi OPECin merkittävimmän jäsenen, Saudi-Arabian, taipumista vaatimuksiin (hinnan nostamiseen tähtäävästä) tuotannon leikkaamisesta.

Irakin julkisen talouden tila ei istu hyvin öljyn hintakehityksen uuden todellisuuden kera. Maan julkinen budjetti on viisinkertaistunut vuodesta 2004, ja vaikka budjettia on huippuvuosista (2013 & 2014) leikattu, on vuoden 2016 budjettiesitys (99.6 miljardia dollaria) vain marginaalisesti vuoden 2015 budettia (100 miljardia dollaria) pienempi, vaikka öljytulojen määrä näyttää pienenevän ensi vuonna melko varmasti. Keskushallinnon kannalta oman mutkansa matkaan öljyviennissä tuo Bagdadin ja Irakin Kurdistanin kitkainen suhde, jota heijastaa vuosi sitten sovitun tuloutussopimuksen hajoaminen aiemmin kesällä. Kurdistanissa on kuohunut poliittisesti tänä syksynä ja paine budjetin, on todennäköistä, että alueen hallinto jatkaa öljyn myymistä ohi keskushallinnon ja Bagdadin.

Haasteita on myös valuuttapolitiikan puolella, jossa jo vuosia maata on vaivannut laiton dollarivaihto, johon keskuspankki on ollut kyvytön vaikuttamaan poliittisen vaikuttamisen takia. Vuonna 2013 tuolloinen keskuspankin johtaja Sinan Shabibi erotettiin tehtävästään sen jälkeen kun silloinen pääministeri, Dawa-puolueen Nuri al-Maliki esti johtajan ehdotuksen kolmen, samaiseen puolueeseen kuuluvan, keskuspankin työntekijän erottamisesta rahanpesuepäilyjen takia. Tapaus on osoitus siitä kuinka Irakissa ainakin rahan kohdalla instituutio joustaa aina ennen poliitikon tai hänen lähipiirinsä etua.

Tulevaisuus?

Irakin politiikkaa on Irakin valtion synnystä ensimmäisen maailmansodan loputtua aina Saddam Husseinin valtakauden päättymiseen määritellyt…valtion käyttämä äärimmäinen ja järjestelmällinen väkivalta yhteiskunnan muokkaamiseen ja hallitsemiseen…valtion resurssien käyttö lojaalisuuden ostamiseen osilta yhteiskuntaa…öljytulojen käyttö [hallinnon] autonomian kasvattamiseen…sekä kommunaalisten ja etnisten jakojen pahentaminen ja jälleenluonti hallitsemisen strategiana.” – Toby Dodge, Inventing Iraq (2003, Hurst & Co.) (toim.suom.)

Irakin tulevaisuuden avainkysymys kuuluu seuraavasti: pystyykö al-Abadi tai yksikään pääministeri ylipäänsä murtamaan yo. sitaatissa mainitun perinnön, joka on jatkunut kattamaan myös edellisen pääministerin, Nuri al-Malikin valtakauden ja joka siten vaikeuttaa uudistyspyrkimyksiä? Etenkin viime kuukausien tapahtumien perusteella on epäilemättä helpompi sortua pessimistiseen vastaukseen: ulkovaltojen – sikäli kun ne voivat tai edes haluavat myönteisesti Irakin kehitykseen vaikuttaa – fokus on kapeasti Isiksen vastaisessa taistelussa, Irakin laajempien poliittisten ongelmien kustannuksella. Tämä on erittäin ongelmallista, sillä on syytä muistaa, että Isis on Irakin poliittisen järjestelmän kyvyttömyyden oire, ei lähde – Isis ei voi menestyä korruptiosta vapaassa, tarpeeksi laadukkaita julkisia palveluita tasapuolisesti tarjoavassa valtiossa, jossa weberiläinen väkivallan monopoli pätee.

“Historia ei toista itseään, mutta poliittiset käytännöt poteroituvat”, kuten Irakia pitkään tutkinut SOASin professori Charles Tripp asian ilmaisee. Massiivisten, 25 miljardin dollarin investointien kohteena olleen Irakin armeijan rakenteellinen romahtaminen Mosulissa ja tätä seurannut aseellisten shiaaryhmittymien esiinnousu uusina valtiollisen turvallisuuden takaajina sekä rooli poliittisessa pelissä al-Abadin uudistusten torppaamiseksi osoittaa, ettei Irakin ns. varjovaltio ole kadonnut mihinkään vaikka sen toimintaympäristö onkin muuttunut. Haider al-Abadin toisen pääministerivuoden alussa on liian helppoa todeta, että Irakissa poliittisten käytäntöjen potero on syvä."

vlad
 
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/1...c-state-offensive-in-mosul.html?intcmp=hplnws

Islamic State routed in Iraq battle, US officials Say
IRBIL, Iraq – Islamic State mounted a major offensive Wednesday, striking multiple sites in northern Iraq, but Kurdish Peshmerga forces backed by U.S. and coalition air support were able to rout the group in a counterattack that left more than 200 Islamic State militants dead, U.S. defense officials said.

Using car bombs, suicide bombers, small arms and even bulldozers, Islamic State conducted a surprise attack against Peshmerga forces in four locations around Mosul late Wednesday, according to U.S. military officials here.

It was one of the largest attacks of its kind since Islamic State arrived in Iraq last year, they said.

Col. Steve Warren, a senior spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq, said that the multiple Islamic State attacks Wednesday had “achieved a tactical surprise”, but praised the effectiveness of the Peshmerga fighters against the militant group. “The pesh got a little bit of a black eye, but they put the other guy in the hospital,” said Col. Warren. “This is the largest punch that ISIL has thrown, and the pesh handily defeated them,” he said.

After a 17-hour battle, which included Peshmerga fighters supported by U.S., French, British and Canadian aircraft, scores of Islamic State militants were dead, including 180 fighters killed by airstrikes. More than 20 others were killed in fighting with Peshmerga forces on the ground, a U.S. military official said.

Another military official here said about 18 Peshmerga fighters also were killed in the battle.

Brig. Gen. Mark Odom, the senior American officer in charge in northern Iraq, said Islamic State attacks are fewer and have become less lethal in recent months. Attacks that do occur originate from a greater distance and rely more on indirect fire, like artillery, rockets and mortar, rather than direct attacks at closer range, using small arms and other weaponry.

Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.
 
Iraq forces in 'full control' of central Ramadi
_87397559_87397558.jpg
Image copyrightReuters
Image captionThe Iraqi flag was raised in parts of Ramadi as security forces entered
  • Iraqi officials say the army is now in "full control" of central Ramadi, where so-called Islamic State (IS) has been resisting an army offensive.

A former government compound, where IS fighters had been holding out, has been retaken, Iraqi security sources say.

However there were still "pockets of resistance" in parts of the city, the provincial governor's spokesman said.

Ramadi, about 55 miles (90km) west of Baghdad, fell to IS in May, in an embarrassing defeat for the army.

Iraqi government forces, backed by coalition air strikes, has been trying to retake the mainly Sunni Arab city for weeks.

Did tactical switch help advance?

Islamic State conflict

Life under IS

Viewpoint: How to defeat IS

"We believe that we do have full control of the centre of Ramadi," Muhannad Haimour, spokesman for the Anbar governor, told the BBC.

"But we're being very careful in declaring victory until we have an official announcement from the prime minister's office."

Mr Haimour said that would mean that area had been cleared of explosives, adding that officials now believed that IS militants were not "capable of launching any attacks on the security forces".

The spokesman described the remaining pockets of resistance as "very weak".

_87398481_iraqramadi4640614.jpg

_87397153_87397152.jpg

In recent days, troops have been picking their way through booby-trapped streets and buildings as they pushed towards the city centre, seizing several districts on the way.

Iraqi soldiers moved in to retake the former government compound on Sunday after sniper fire stopped and aerial surveillance detected no human activity.

An Anbar security source told the BBC on Monday that Iraqi forces had taken over the complex completely, finding "nothing but rubble and earth mounds, as most of its buildings were blown up" by IS.

The source said it might still be a few days before "full liberation" of the city is declared.

Analysis: Thomas Fessy, BBC News, Baghdad
Controlling this compound is key to retaking Ramadi. Iraqi soldiers are slowly clearing it as they fear it may have been rigged to explode.

Troops are also busy in the surrounding neighbourhood, where pockets of resistance remain.

The authorities will hail this week's offensive as a success - in stark contrast with the security forces' hasty retreat from Ramadi last May.

However, it took months to mount this ground campaign, in co-ordination with coalition air strikes.

There had been no clear indications of the number of IS militants who had been defending the city, although some reports put it at about 400. No official toll of Iraqi army casualties has been given.

The Iraqi military believes the remaining militants have headed north-east. Fighting is also reported south-west of the compound.

Concern remains for hundreds of families trapped on the frontline. Although the situation on the ground remains unclear, AFP news agency reported celebrations on the streets of a number of Iraqi cities.

The operation to recapture Ramadi began in early November, but made slow progress, mainly because the government chose not to use the powerful Shia-dominated paramilitary force that helped it regain the northern city of Tikrit, to avoid increasing sectarian tensions.
Klikkaa laajentaaksesi...
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35186105
 
Nyt mielenkiintoinen kysymys on se, että montako daeshinia kuoli ja moniko pääsi pakoon?
 
VanhaPate kirjoitti:
Aika huomattava osa on vissiin päässyt karkuun.

"Estimates at the beginning of the operation were that no more than 400 Isil fighters remained hunkered down in central Ramadi and dozens have since been killed.

Iraqi military sources have reported that more than 50 jihadists were killed in the past 48 hours alone."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ttle-to-retake-Ramadi-from-Islamic-State.html
Klikkaa laajentaaksesi...

Lähinnä olin kiinnostunut noista 400:sta. Se oli jo aikaisemmin tiedossa, että niitä ei siellä ole montaa jemmassa, mutta oli tärkeää, että näistä mahdollisimman suuri osa kuolee tai jää vangiksi. Ne jotka eivät jääneet taistelemaan ovat pääasiassa sitä sakkia, jotka eivät olisi muutenkaan ongelma. Nämä häviävät kuin tuhka tuuleen sitä mukaa kuin daeshineille tulee vastoinkäymisiä, eivätkä varmaankaan ole mukana halustaan kuolla asian puolesta. Tietenkin joukossa oli mukana myös johtajia, mutta näiden häipyminen paikalta oli ennalta arvattavaa aikaisempien tapausten perusteella, joten heidän eliminoimiseen pitää käyttää muita keinoja.
 
Jenkit arvioivat Daeshin joukkojen määrän aika suureksi:

The US military supported the Iraqi offensive, launching scores of airstrikes in and around Ramadi over the past week. Over the past 24 hours, the US military said it conducted five airstrike that targeted “two separate ISIL tactical units … an ISIL fighting position, five ISIL command and control nodes, an ISIL tactical vehicle, an ISIL bed-down location, an ISIL artillery site, … [and] five ISIL-used roads.”

The number of Islamic State fighters defending Ramadi has been estimated at upwards of 1,000. On Dec. 21, Colonel Steve Warren, a spokesman for the US military, claimed that between 500 and 1,000 jihadists were defending the city, and that US airstrikes had killed at least 350 of them. The next day he estimated that between 250 and 350 remained inside Ramadi. On Dec. 26, a local Iraqi intelligence official claimed that 500 Islamic State fighters were present. The same day, another Iraqi official said that all the foreign Islamic State fighters had left Ramadi and that scores of local fighters remained behind.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archi...alSiteWide+(The+Long+War+Journal+(Site-Wide))
 
Onko tämä video ollut täällä? Varmaan on, mutta en ole varma. Videossahan on jotain sellasta materiaalia jota tällä foorumilla voidaan pitää "asiattomana", ja jos sellaista on niin moderaattorit poistakoon videon. Joka tapauksessa kun en ole varma onko video tällä foorumilla ollut ja onko se foorumille sopiva, niin laiten sen:
 
Mielenkiintoinen kysymys on myös Irakin uuden armeijan tappiot siitä asti kun operaatio kaupunkia vastaan alkoi. Mentiinkö samalla porukalla kokoajan, vai jouduttiinko uusimaan.
Irakilaiset itse kiittävät Venäjää. Venäjä aloitti Syyrian pommitukset ja sen jälkeen jenkit pommittivat kysymättä kaikki Irakilaisten osoittamat kohteet.
Niin tai näin. Kaupungin vapautustaistelu alkoi jo ajat sitten. Nyt se vain vietiin maaliin. Siinä välissä ehti tapahtua maailmanpolitiikassakin kummia.
 
Sinun täytyy kirjautua vastataksesi.
Back
Top