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Kurdistan faces ongoing refugee challenge

Kurdistan faces ongoing refugee challenge Many of those fleeing Mosul were forced to pack and leave quickly, some on foot, as fighters for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) moved into the city. "They are wearing Iraqi Army uniforms and driving in Iraqi Army vehicles," said Abdul Sadiq, who fled the city with his family. "They are also in charge of the checkpoints, but they are letting people leave freely." Over 500,000 people have been displaced from Salahaddin, Ninewa, and Kirkuk provinces as ISIS has chased away gover… This content is for registered users. Please login to continue. If you are not a registered user, you may purchase a subscription or sign up for a free trial .

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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What the Iraq Crisis Means for Talks on Iran’s Nuclear Future

As the United States and Iran maneuver around one another to shore up the government in Iraq , the two countries are simultaneously negotiating Iran’s nuclear future. So the question arises: What would the Middle East look like if Tehran and Washington could actually reach a deal on the nuclear issue? Already, Secretary of State John Kerry is suggesting cooperation with Iran to halt the radical Sunni upsurge in Iraq. Despite the tortured history between the United States and Iran, there is some precedent for cooperation, including Iran’s willingness to provide intelligence on Al Qaeda after Sept. 11, 2001. Britain’s foreign secretary, William Hague, has moved to reopen the British Embassy in Tehran, shut since 2011. “Iran is an important country in a volatile region” that has been “divisive and sectarian,” he said. He added, perhaps with more hope than experience: “Iran does have the capability to play a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Rising U.S. Output Seen Curbing Impact of Iraq on Oil

The U.S. shale boom, which has sent the nation’s output to a 28-year high, is curbing the impact of the Iraq crisis on the oil market, said Nansen Saleri, former head of reservoir management at Saudi Arabian Oil Co. Prices would have climbed more this month if techniques such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling hadn’t bolstered U.S. crude output, said Saleri, who is now chief executive officer of Houston-based consultant Quantum Reservoir Impact. West Texas Intermediate oil, the U.S. benchmark, has climbed $5 to $10 on supply anxiety, he said. “Were it not for the increase in U.S. production, that’s gained close to 2 million barrels a day, we would see a $20 to $30 rise in prices,” Saleri said in a telephone interview. “The surge in U.S. production is a hugely stabilizing factor.” WTI for July delivery rose to $107.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Extremists Attack Iraq’s Biggest Oil Refinery

Refinery workers, witnesses and an Iraqi Army officer reported the seizure of Iraq’s biggest oil refinery by Sunni extremists on Wednesday after army helicopter gunships failed to repel their attack. But other Iraqi officials, including the commander of the garrison defending the refinery in Baiji, asserted that fighting was still going on inside the extensive facility, shut down by the violence. The battle in Baiji, 130 miles north of Baghdad, came as the Obama administration, which extricated American troops from Iraq less than three years ago, was weighing a more muscular response, including airstrikes, to help the besieged government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Wednesday in Saudi Arabia that Iraq had asked for American airstrikes, according to Al Arabiya television. That would make Mr. Zebari the first top Iraqi official to publicly confirm that request, reported by The New York Times […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Battle for Iraq’s Largest Oil Refinery Simmers

By Ali A. Nabhan and Matt Bradley Government security forces fought Thursday to regain control of the Iraq’s largest oil refinery in a decisive test of Baghdad’s ability to protect an economic pillar from Sunni Muslim insurgents. Although the battle for the refinery in Beiji, 130 miles north of the capital Baghdad, subsided early Thursday, workers in the facility’s employee housing compound said they heard mortar fire overnight. Operations at the refinery have ceased, and electricity has been cut, said Dhahi Al Jubouri, an engineer. Refinery employees said the militants had taken over most of the installation and that major gas line and two large fuel tanks had been heavily damaged in fighting between government forces and an insurgency led by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. "Gunmen are controlling some areas, and security forces are still controlling the administrative office and the production department," Mr. Jubouri said. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Battle for Iraq's Largest Oil Refinery Simmers

By Ali A. Nabhan and Matt Bradley Government security forces fought Thursday to regain control of the Iraq’s largest oil refinery in a decisive test of Baghdad’s ability to protect an economic pillar from Sunni Muslim insurgents. Although the battle for the refinery in Beiji, 130 miles north of the capital Baghdad, subsided early Thursday, workers in the facility’s employee housing compound said they heard mortar fire overnight. Operations at the refinery have ceased, and electricity has been cut, said Dhahi Al Jubouri, an engineer. Refinery employees said the militants had taken over most of the installation and that major gas line and two large fuel tanks had been heavily damaged in fighting between government forces and an insurgency led by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. "Gunmen are controlling some areas, and security forces are still controlling the administrative office and the production department," Mr. Jubouri said. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Militants fly their black flags over Iraq refinery

Mideast Iraq Mideast Iraq Mideast Iraq Mideast Iraq Mideast Iraq Mideast Iraq Mideast Iraq Mideast Iraq BAGHDAD (AP) — Sunni militants have hung their black banners on watch towers at Iraq’s largest oil refinery, a witness said Thursday, suggesting the vital facility had fallen to the insurgents in control of vast territories across the country’s north. A top Iraqi security official, however, said the government still held the facility. The fighting at Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad, comes as Iraq has asked the U.S. to launch airstrikes targeting militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. While U.S. President Barack Obama has not fully ruled out the possibility of launching airstrikes, such action is not imminent, officials said, in part because intelligence agencies have been unable to identify clear targets on the ground. The Iraqi witness who drove past the Beiji refinery, said […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iran's Status at Stake in Iraq as Ally Maliki Is Attacked

Iran , already deeply mired in Syria’s civil war, now finds itself center stage in a fight against Sunni militants threatening to topple its most important regional partner in Iraq . Iran is pledging to defend Shiite shrines in Iraq and help Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki defeat an al-Qaeda breakaway group that has routed his northern army. More than 130 members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards entered Iraq’s eastern Diyala province, which borders the Islamic republic, the BBC reported last week. The conflict will test Iran’s ability to prop up its two closest Arab allies to preserve the political influence built in the region over the past decade. The collapse of Maliki’s government, without a pro-Iranian alternative ready to take over, would cut Iran’s leverage in its power struggle with regional Sunni powers such as Saudi Arabia and in its efforts to overhaul ties with the U.S. Related: “The fragility […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Iran’s Status at Stake in Iraq as Ally Maliki Is Attacked

Iran , already deeply mired in Syria’s civil war, now finds itself center stage in a fight against Sunni militants threatening to topple its most important regional partner in Iraq . Iran is pledging to defend Shiite shrines in Iraq and help Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki defeat an al-Qaeda breakaway group that has routed his northern army. More than 130 members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards entered Iraq’s eastern Diyala province, which borders the Islamic republic, the BBC reported last week. The conflict will test Iran’s ability to prop up its two closest Arab allies to preserve the political influence built in the region over the past decade. The collapse of Maliki’s government, without a pro-Iranian alternative ready to take over, would cut Iran’s leverage in its power struggle with regional Sunni powers such as Saudi Arabia and in its efforts to overhaul ties with the U.S. Related: “The fragility […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Battle for Iraq refinery as U.S. hesitates to strike

Iraqi government forces battled Sunni rebels for control of the country’s biggest refinery on Thursday as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki waited for a U.S. response to an appeal for air strikes to beat back the threat to Baghdad. The sprawling Baiji refinery, 200 km (130 miles) north of the capital near Tikrit, was a battlefield as troops loyal to the Shi’ite-led government held off insurgents from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and its allies who had stormed the perimeter a day earlier, threatening national energy supplies. A government spokesman said around noon (0900 GMT) that its forces were in "complete control" but a witness in Baiji said fighting was continuing and ISIL militants were still present. A day after the government publicly appealed for U.S. air power, there were indications Washington is sceptical of whether that would be effective, given the risk […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple