Washington Post: Securing borders is Iraq's most important challenge ahead

[yota691]

2017/12/07 (00:01 PM)   -   Number of readings: 282   -   Number (4081)

 

 

 

Washington Post: Securing borders is Iraq's most important challenge ahead

 Translation / Hamid Ahmed 
 

Every day for more than three years, the US-led coalition has bombed targets in Iraq and Syria that have delivered nearly 30,000 air strikes, but on November 26 there was not a single air strike.

Just one week ago, the Iraqi army managed to retrieve the last piece of land that had been controlled by armed militants. The Pentagon also said 400 Marine soldiers had deployed them in Syria to fight Da'ash who would return to their country after the end of their duties. 
These important turning points seemed to signal an embarrassing defeat, with the end of his alleged successor state. But on the other hand, the war is not over yet. 
The US military has not yet identified its role after the major battles against Da'ash, although US and Iraqi officials have shown that a significant reduction in the number of US troops in the country is possible. 
The United States, for its part, is helping in this area by working with the police and army units in charge of protecting the areas under their control to prevent them from conducting any operations there, said Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the International Coalition.
"We fully expect that they may return to their roots to carry out aggressive attacks," Colonel Dillon said, but unanticipated political matters among adversaries in Iraq over land and areas could undermine counterterrorism efforts. 
In Iraq, elite anti-terrorism forces were occupied with taking a role in resolving a dispute between the Baghdad government and the provincial government after the referendum for independence. 
Major General Sami al-'Aradi, commander of a counterterrorism team, said the troops were expected to return to bases deployed in Iraq's provinces after the fighting against Da'ash, but instead deployed around several disputed areas in northern Iraq. 
"This is our new mission now," he said, explaining his presence near Kurdish areas.
Resolving this crisis will allow counterterrorism units to return to their role as a bulwark against attacks by a sympathetic organization, such as the September attack that killed more than 80 Shiite pilgrims in southern Iraq. Attacks such as these confirm the existing threat posed by an oppressive organization despite its loss of territory it occupied. 
Military commanders say securing Iraq's borders with Syria and the desert region is a key step toward averting further bloodshed. 
Iraqi military commanders said the Iraqi army and crowd forces had secured about 14,000,000 square kilometers of desert areas in western Iraq, but there was still work to secure nearby areas.
Major General Qassem al-Mohammadi, commander of operations in Anbar, said the area included smuggling routes and armed caches that Iraqi forces had not reached in 14 years. "This region has been used as a place by terrorist groups to mobilize its forces and train them," Mohammadi said, adding: "The biggest challenge we face now is the sheer size of this cutter. 
The Iraqi army was using its air force to destroy insurgent positions in the vast desert area free of civilians. 
Col. Dillon said there was no need for US air strikes, raising new questions about the long-term US presence.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in an interview this fall that he expected US troops to begin reducing their number in Iraq from the highest number reached by 5,200 this year, but wanted some troops to continue to train Iraqi forces to gather intelligence and exchange information.

[DIAMOND]

Why does my B.S. detector go off when it sees Washington post 

[DinarDavo]

1 hour ago, DIAMOND said:

Why does my B.S. detector go off when it sees Washington post 

 

Must be of high quality and properly calibrated....same here.