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Images From The Iraqi Frontlines: Iran-Backed Fighters Battle ISIS For Control Of Key Refinery
One event that flew under the radar last month as Russia revved up its long dormant military juggernaut, was the intelligence sharing alliance struck between Moscow, Baghdad, Tehran, and Damascus. The deal called for the establishment of an intel command base in Baghdad and a rotating presidency. As Sputnik reported on September 28:
“This shared intelligence base will be formed by the representatives of the chiefs of joint military staff of each of these four countries. … The first goal of the base is to gather intelligence regarding the region in the framework of fighting against this terrorist group. After the data is collected, it will be analyzed and will eventually be forwarded to the related organizations in the armed forces of each of these countries. The command of this base will rotate every three months between the member states and the first rotating president will be Iraq.”
This initiative was purportedly behind the strike on an ISIS convoy that some initially believed had killed Bakr al-Baghdadi. Apparently, Baghdadi was not actually present, but nevertheless, the Iraqis are clearly excited about the joint intelligence initiative, presumably because the US hasn’t proven to be too “intelligent” an ally thus far. Consider the following from Reuters:
Iraq has begun bombing Islamic State insurgents with help from a new intelligence center with staff from Russia, Iran and Syria, a senior parliamentary figure said on Tuesday about cooperation seen as a threat to U.S. interests in the region.
The center has been operational for about a week, and it provided intelligence for air strikes on a gathering of middle-level Islamic State figures, Hakim al Zamili, the head of parliament's defense and security committee, told Reuters.
The new security apparatus based in Baghdad suggests the United States is losing clout in a strategic oil-producing Middle East, where it has been heavily invested for years.
Iraqi officials, frustrated with the pace and depth of the U.S. military campaign against Islamic State, have said they will lean heavily on Washington's former Cold War rival Russia in the battle against the Sunni Muslim jihadists.
“We find it extremely useful," the Iraqi official said. “The idea is to formalize the relationship with Iran, Russia and Syria. We wanted a full-blown military alliance.”
Iran, a longtime Middle East adversary of the United States, already boasts deep influence in Iraq. Iranian military advisers help direct Baghdad's campaign against Islamic State, which aims to expand its self-proclaimed caliphate in the Middle East.
Washington, with a history of close security links with Baghdad, now worries the intelligence center may foster closer Russian-Iraqi ties, particularly with respect to operations against Islamist militants, a U.S. security official said.
The Baghdad government, and allied Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias who are leading the fight against Islamic State in Iraq, say the United States lacks the decisiveness and the readiness to supply weapons needed to eliminate militancy in the region.
Yes, “Iran boasts deep influence in Iraq, [its] military advisers help direct Baghdad's campaign against Islamic State, [and] the Baghdad government and allied Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias say the United States lacks the decisiveness and the readiness to supply weapons needed to eliminate militancy in the region.” As we’ve documented extensively, this is all orchestrated and overseen by the Quds Force and the plan from day one appears to have been this: Tehran agrees to allow Russia to become the new Mid-East puppet master once the US packs up and leaves if Russia agrees to provide the military might needed for Iran to secure Syria and cement the IRGC’s stranglehold on Iraqi politics and military affairs.
So in short, what seems likely to happen here is that once Syria is secure, the Shiite militias under Iran’s control (including Hezbollah) will simply move on to Iraq to reinforce the Iran-backed militias operating there.
As we demonstrated on Thursday, Russia now has the capability to strike targets in Iraq thanks to the new base at Latakia, so air cover shouldn't be a problem.
Given all of the above, we imagine we’ll be hearing a lot more about Iraq in the coming months and so, in an effort to begin taking a closer look at the activities of the Shiite militias operating in the country alongside the Iraqi army, we bring you the following from The New York Times who reports that the groups achieved a major strategic victory on Thursday when ISIS was driven from the Baiji refinery:
Iraqi forces and the Shiite militias fighting alongside them announced Friday that they had retaken the oil refinery at Baiji from Islamic State militants, in some of the first significant progress against the extremist group after months of stalled efforts.
“Baiji refinery has been completely liberated from Daesh,” a spokesman for Iraq’s counterterrorism service said.
Iraqi officials insist that its recapture is a strategically important step, and a vital lift to morale, in the broader campaign against the Islamic State, which controls much of northern and western Iraq.
Baiji and the nearby town of Siniya, which Iraqi forces said they had also taken, are on a major north-south route to Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which was seized by the Islamic State in June 2014.
“This battle is crucial,” Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Monday during a visit to Salahuddin, the province north of Baghdad that includes Baiji.
The Iraqis appeared to have had more going for them this time. The push to retake Baiji came as Iraqi forces were mounting a parallel offensive to retake Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province in western Iraq.
The Iraqi military said it had encircled Ramadi, which United States military officials say is defended by an estimated 600 to 1,000 Islamic State fighters.
The Shiite militias — formally known as the Popular Mobilization Forces — have not been given a role in the Ramadi operation for fear that their presence might antagonize the mostly Sunni population there. But the militias, some of which are backed and trained by Iran, played a major role in the Baiji operation.
A spokesman for Shiite militias said that several thousand Shiite militiamen were fighting in and near Baiji, which is more than the estimated number of Iraqi soldiers also fighting there.
Shiite militia leaders have advertised their presence on the battlefield. Qais al-Khazali, the head of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a militia long supported by Iran, was filmed inside the captured refinery. Hadi al-Ameri, the leader of the Badr Organization, another Iranian-backed group, also played a visible role in the operation.
And here are the images of the Shiite fighters who battled to retake Baiji (via Reuters):
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How to make enemies ans alienate whole peoples is the No. 1 bestseller in
the swamp by the Potomac.
McStains head would look good on top of that flagpole.
right next to bibi's
"How to make enemies ans alienate whole peoples is the No. 1 bestseller in
the swamp by the Potomac."... And has been for many years WC. Long before the Gulf war and Balkans came into focus!!!
Now all of that is left is in the rear view mirror of that retro Mustang!
Nice being delusional and losing what is left of your mind.
It cushions the final blow rather nicely!
Isis needs help -calling Commander McCain -your country needs you. Get your boots on the ground and save our ISIS boys. That will give you the chance to fulfill your lifelong dream of killing Russians.
It is a joy watching the whole ME (by whole I do not mean those saudi, jordanian, quatari, turk and UAE cunts) destroying terrorist jewUSSA's proxy army, just a pity it has taken so long. Only a bit more time now bitchez.
Go Team! I guess.
Cheerleaders in burkas with black pom-poms is not too much to ask I think.
You know the world is all kind of fucked up when you find yourself rooting for the Iranians...
Yeah, I saw em' comin' so I ran
You ran so far away?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Pq0xYr3L4
Couldn't get away.
Got the Hezbollah outta Dodge.
Rock the Hezbollah, Rock the Hezbollah!
The Persians are probably some of the most rational actors in the ME. If we hadn't overthrown their government back in the '50s, they probably wouldn't hate us so much. Or, if we hadn't supported Saddam in the Iraq-Iran war (including turning a blind eye to chemical weapons use,) they probably wouldn't hate us so much. Or if we hadn't ousted Saddam after supporting him, they would probably trust us more.
Plenty with the scars(literally),either themselves, or a family member , from
SAVAK interogations.Quite often with a CIA 'observer' present.The CIA and torture began long
before baby Bush'e term.A lot of well justified resentment so its amazing how restrained they are.
Iranians hate Jimmy Carter for not supporting the Shah. Most Iranians look back with nostalgia and pride at their country at that time and hate the mullahs.
Those rose tinted spectacles are great.Where can I buy some ?
The reality was the Shah was a brutal dictator whose secret police(SAVAK) made the gestapo
look like choirboys.I belive you are talking to Iranians that were his supporters and
beneficarys. Just a guess.
Carter thought the same way, so he pressured the Shah to let all the crazies get their revolutions on. The mullahs won and fucked over a great nation that was modernizing and secularizing impressively.
Carter was right, his solution was wrong.
The KSA make Iran look secular in comparison.Methinks you are overdosing on MSM.
Do you even know any Iranians? I had a house.full of them last night. Multiple generations present. They were there and here back then.
When is Carter going to get the credit he deserves for not supporting such goons as the Shaw and Somoza?
Not a single shot fired in anger by the US military during his entire four years. Just sayin'
Tyrants worldwide noticed their opportunity, as they've done since the day Obama was elected. They have considerable flexibility at the moment.
TBT = Totally Bigoted Twat
Yes, and the US seems intent on creating 'blowback' the world over.
And at an accelerated pace of late it seems. It is mind boggling just how quickly we're pissing EVERYONE off. When the UK voted to tell us to fuck off regarding an invasion of Syria, that should have been a big flashing red light with sirens blairing telling the fuckwits in DC that US foreign policy was FUBAR.
You don't talk to a rabid dog,you shoot it.
I've been here since around the fall of the soviets, and the downward spiral in 25 years
has beenn horrifying too watch. My mother is spinning in her grave about whats happening
in her country. Sad,very sad.
Michael Ledeen cals it "creative Destruction" --organized chaos. That's the model for the neocons and Zionists -and sadly, they use America to do their evil.
"Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business." - Ledeen Quoted/paraphrased by Jonah Goldberg in The National Review Online
What a wonderful human being...
They've been doing it to Palestine and Palestinians for the last 60 years. Truly wonderful people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfzofWDoI1A
VietNam before that. The threat backing the GRC status of the $ requires occasional blood sacrifice to keep it credible.
Enabled by American blood and treasure.
Iran has not started any war in 200 years,
but has had plenty of dirty done to them
Iran is hardly blameless in the war I/I War. Khomeini repeatedy called for the overthrow of the Iraqi Baath in the year after he came for power. With his ties to Iraq'a Shi'a clergy he was in a position to cause a lot of trouble, which he did. He refused to discuss any modification of the Algiers Agreement that the Shah had forced on Iraq. At one point he even sent jihadists into Iraq. That didn't excuse Iraq's invasion of Iran in September of 1980 but Kho could have had peace if he really wanted it. He invaded Iraq 5 times before the war was over. Today Iran has usurped the occupation of Iraq from the United States.
Nothing would excuse any U.S. attack on Iran, but it's hardly a champion of sovereignty and equaliity among nations.
Oh, and forget the "poison gas" stuff. That's not even a good kiddie campfire scare story.
It doesn't do any good to make statements of fact about history on ZH. Some ZHers will stomp on you for that. Just try to get fired up with the popular emotion of the moment and go with that /sarc.
Big difference between calling for Saddam's overthrow and actually doing it like we did in 1953 when we organized a coup against the democrtically elected government of Iran and put in the corrupt Shaw. And yes after Iran regained their captured territory from Iraq they went on the offensive. That's what happens when you invade a country. Hitler learned that lesson after he invaded Russia.
And yes there were excesses from the Iranian revolution, but it was still quite mild compared to the Bolshevik, Maoist revolutions, as well as the excess of Pol Pot, numerous african countries and many others. Vietnam was quite repressive also to those collaborators who assisted Americans in bombing, napalming and killing over 2 millions people-over half of whom were inncent civilians. The iranians were pissed off and had a good reason to be. Today they are quite civilized, much more so than our barbaric Wahibbi Saudi allies who trained Isis in the fine art of beheading people.
And at least they treat their owns Jews quite well, unlike the Israelis who torture and murder palestinians, who they consider to be cockroaches.
Actually when you look beyond the propaganda and Lies -the iranians are really the good guys -as is Putin, Assad and was Ghadaffi. Saddam wasn't all that bad either.
"It may only be barren sand - but it's OUR barren sand!"
The story of the Middle East...
ISIS funny video
youtube.com/watch?v=QyPRBUMbHHU
.
Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz will put their collective brain cells together [2] and set this straight....Yo, Dickie; Yo Paulie...
Dick Cheney is a lot of things, but dumb ain't one of 'em. After shooting a man in the face, that man apologized to Dick on national television. That is the mark of an evil genius.
Sounds like Stalin. I still think Stalin was slightly more evil than Cheney - Not sure though. Hillary is another Stalin wannabee.
The greatest loss to US strategic interests is the loss of confidence of her allies. This will have unforetold consequences for US homeland security too. Even Israel relies on Russia to ensure that the Iranians keep away from her border with Syria. Relies on Russia for heaven's sake! What has this Administration done to us?
Putin just reminded the world which superpower insults her allies, retreats at the first sign of danger, kowtows to her enemies, and promotes a decrepit socialist economic system. Not Russia!
There must be a long waiting list for foreign leaders to get a meeting with President Putin these days.
Clueless. The 'Murikans are fucking clueless when dealing with the ME.
"the plan from day one appears to have been this: Tehran agrees to allow Russia to become the new Mid-East puppet master once the US packs up and leaves if Russia agrees to provide the military might needed for Iran to secure Syria and cement the IRGC’s stranglehold on Iraqi politics and military affairs."
Looool!!!
It's not that at all, but fuggedabowdit. You wouldn't understand.
the article only needs to be as long as a headline. usa loses the war in the mideast israel isolated.
You would think that eventually these troops will run into rigged buildings or facilities at some point. If we can't have it nobody can!
this is the best thing to happen to the world since the collapse of the soviet union. the vestige of the former evil communist empire saves the world from psychotic religio judeochristian wackos. fuck the zionazi empire. i just want to be american again.
That will change when those crazies turn inward,which they will, when they can't cause
death and destruction elsewhere,they will get their kicks on Americans instead.
That's probably what it will take to wake enough of us up to action too. Few Americans understand the theft that is our banking and monetary system, but they do understand that a flash-bang being thrown into a baby's crib is heinous. The unfortunate thing for the nutters is that they don't have two vast oceans protecting them from the populace.
Nothing will wake the herd up other than the disappearance of cable and in the case of the FSA their EBT cards.
"i just want to be american again".
That american, and his descendants, will look a bit like Tiger Woods. IOW there won't ever be the old/real America again.
If you understand that the US plan for the Middle East is based on the thirty year old document, "The Zionist Plan for the Middle East", which aims at dividing tribes against one another in ongoing civil war and makes no entity strong enough to be a threat to Israel. And if you understand the plan for the New Middle East taught at the US war college, there is a fatal flaw in both of these operations. Namely, that it takes on the appearance that the West does not know how to solve the problem and leaves the door wide open for an alliance, such as, Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria to come in and show how it's done.
The problem with a hegemony is that it starts believing its own press and fails to recognize when the air has gone out of that balloon. Hegemony takes on a level of self-absorption and fails to recognize the emergence of a total different point of view reaching its maximum capability.
There, fixed it for ya...
FORWARD CALIPHATE!
Only time Obie is quick to respond is when Reggie wants to mount him
Meanwhile, Ukraine is dying down (for now?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsr1J6F76XY&index=3&list=PLw613M86o5o5zq...
Can you walk and say "Jew" at the same time. Didn't think so Mr Indelicate. The reason for your paranoic hatred is that you're a loser, jealous, insecure and filled with bile.
Anti-Semites are usually cowards who hide behind anonymity and upset the Jews but present no real threat to them. When they emerge from the shadows however they will find us waiting for them. This time is different.
Say goodbye to dreams of Greater Israel. A coalition of what you would call anti-semites -the The Russians, Iran, Iraq, Syria and hezbollah are going to dominate your region. New Freedom inspired Muslims will rise up in a new Arab Spring to take out the rest of your allies in the ME. I suppose Israel will still be able to beat up on the Gazans and Palestinians -at least for a while.
Time for God to call his chosen to heaven and leave the world in peace.
Its not jews but just their behavior that causes bad feeling
Well 'anti-semites' (i.e. people Jews don't like) better hide behind something or else they'll end up in the slammer and/or losing their jobs. You clear now?
Where is Rumsfeld when you need him? /sarc
Crude Oil WTI shows short-term long momentum:
http://tripstrading.com/2015/10/...
http://tripstrading.com/2015/10/...
Butt, butt I thought ISIS cut off thier beards and ran away? Make up your mind.