US’ Dempsey Voices Confidence Tikrit Campaign Will Prevail against ISIL

Local Editor

The chairman of US’ Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey said that the combined forces of the Iraqi army and the popular mobilization forces are likely to prevail against militants of the Takfiri group, ISIL in the unfolding battle for Tikrit.

As he was on an aircraft on his way to Iraq, Dempsey told reporters the numbers of the forces engaged in the campaign against ISIL in Tikrit “are overwhelming.”

Dempsey said the battle for Tikrit, so far, has not been what the US military would consider “a sophisticated military maneuver."

US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey

He described a hodge-podge of Iraqi armored Humvees, trucks, and other vehicles surging toward Tikrit as something similar to rush hour traffic in Washington D.C.

Meanwhile, Dempsey warned that the military campaign should be followed by “a show of humanitarian and other support for mostly Sunni Tikrit” by Baghdad.

“The important thing about this operation in Tikrit is less about how the military aspect of it goes and more about what follows,” Dempsey said.

In this context, Demsey said that the key task for Iraq’s leaders is to balance what he called “the Iranian role in empowering Shiite militias with Iraq’s partnership with the U.S. and other coalition members.”

“The only one that can balance that is the prime minister of Iraq,” America’s top general said.
“So I want to get his views on how he is seeking to balance that concern.”

The Iraqi army and the popular mobilization forces, which consist of both Shiite fighters and Sunni tribes, have been engaged in a military campaign in Salahuddin province.


Source: Websites	07-03-2015 - 11:32 Last updated 07-03-2015 - 11:32

Kerry: Iran’s Role in Iraq Backed by Government, Sunni Leaders

Local Editor

Kerry

The Iranian role in Iraq is supported by Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi as well as Iraqi Sunni leaders, US Secretary of State John Kerry said in Riyadh on Thursday.

One day after completing a round of negotiations with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Kerry met for an hour Thursday with King Salman at the Diriya Farm outside Riyadh as well as Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal.

Kerry also met at the Riyadh Air Base on Thursday morning with the foreign ministers from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, which is made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Kerry said that he would convene a meeting in Washington with senior officials from the Persian Gulf states to discuss future security arrangements in the region.