ISIS update 12/07/2015..Iraq: Turkey has 24 hours to withdraw

(Before It's News)

International Military Review – Syria, Dec. 7, 2015
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Turkey says it will halt further deployment of troops to northern Iraq

Iraqi PM threatens to refer Turkey to UNSC over troop deployment

Arab League condemns Turkish troop deployment to Iraq

Iraq: Turkey has 24 hours to withdraw

Fort Russ – 6th December, 2015

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Al-Masdar News

Iraq’s National Security Council, headed by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, has announced that Turkey has 48 hours to withdraw from Iraq’s territory before it uses “all available options.”

The Shi’ite militia, Kataib Hezbollah, that is backed by Iran released a statement promising to retaliate against the Turkish incursion that is violating Iraqi sovereignty.

In the last 24 hours, Turkey has stated it will deploy up to 2000 troops in Iraq, up from a few hundred. They claim they were legally asked by the Kurdish Regional Government to help in the fight against ISIS. Baghdad claims they are the only sole legitimate government in Iraq.

In recent weeks, Shi’ite militias have also vowed to fight against US troops in Iraq if were to be deployed there.

‘Turkey gets impunity for whatever it does’: Turkish troops deployed in N. Iraq

Iraq May Seek “Direct Military Intervention From Russia” To Expel Turkish Troops | Zero Hedge

Turkey just can’t seem to help itself when it comes to escalations in the Mid-East.

First, Erdogan intentionally reignited the conflict between Ankara and the PKK in an effort to scare the public into nullifying a democratic election outcome. Then, the Turks shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border. Finally, in what very well might be an effort to protect Islamic State oil smuggling routes, Erdogan sent 150 troops and two dozen tanks to Bashiqa, just northeast of Mosul in a move that has infuriated Baghdad.

We discussed the troop deployment at length on Saturday in “Did Turkey Just Invade Iraq To Protect Erdogan’s ISIS Oil Smuggling Routes?,” and you’re encouraged to review the analysis in its entirety, but here was our conclusion:

The backlash underscores the fact that Iraq does not want help from NATO when it comes to fighting ISIS. Iraqis generally believe the US is in bed with Islamic State and you can bet that Russia and Iran will be keen on advising Baghdad to be exceptionally assertive when it comes to expelling a highly suspicious Turkish presence near Najma.

You’re reminded that Iran wields considerable influence both politically and militarily in Iraq. The Iraqi military has proven largely ineffective at defending the country against the ISIS advance and so, the Quds-backed Shiite militias including the Badr Organisation, Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah have stepped in to fill the void (see our full account here).

Of course that means that the Ayatollah looms large in Iraq and when it comes to loyalty, both the militias and a number of Iraqi lawmakers pledge allegiance to Tehran and more specifically to Qassem Soleimani. The point is this: Iran is not going to stand idly by and let America and Turkey put more boots on the ground in Iraq which is why just hours after Ash Carter announced that The Pentagon is set to send in more US SpecOps, Kataib Hezbollah threatened to hunt them down and kill them. Not coincidentally, PM Haider al-Abadi rejected a larger US troop presence just moments later.

Now, Abadi has given Turkey 48 hours to get its troops out of Iraq or else.

Or else what?, you might ask. Well, or else Baghdad will appeal to the UN Security Council where Russia and China would likely support the Iraqi cause.

But that’s a little too meek of a solution for some Iraqi politicians including Hakim al-Zamili, the head of Iraq’s parliamentary committee on security and defense who said on Sunday that Iraq “may soon ask Russia for direct military intervention in response to the Turkish invasion and the violation of Iraqi sovereignty.”

“Iraq has the ability to repel these forces and drive them out of Iraqi territory. We could also request Russia to intervene militarily in Iraq in response to Turkish violation of Iraqi sovereignty,” he told Al-Araby al-Jadeed.

Well guess what? Hakim al-Zamili is a somebody.

He was arrested in 2007 by Iraqi and American troops while holding a high ranking office in the Health Ministry. Zamili was charged with sending millions of dollars to Shiite militants who subsequently kidnapped and killed Iraqi civilians. Sunni civilians. More specifically, the US suspected Zamili “of using his position to run a rogue unit of the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia that claims loyalty to the cleric Moktada al-Sadr,” The New York Times reported at the time, adding that he was accused of “flooding the Health Ministry’s payroll with militants, embezzling American money meant to pay for Iraq’s overworked medical system and using Health Ministry ‘facilities and services for sectarian kidnapping and murder.”

Here’s an interesting account from NPR ca. 2010, after parliamentary elections:

At Friday prayers yesterday in Baghdad’s Sadr City slum, one man in a gray suit seemed to attract as much attention as the preachers speaking over the P.A.

After a sermon that praised both armed and political resistance to the occupation of Iraq, many from the crowd of thousands rushed up to the front to congratulate Hakim al-Zamili, who appears to have won a resounding mandate as a member of parliament from Baghdad.

Though a celebrity here in Sadr City, many Iraqis call him a war criminal. Zamili was the deputy health minister during the ramp-up to Iraq’s civil war, and he’s accused of turning the ministry’s guards into a Shia death squad, kidnapping and killing hundreds of Sunnis. Another ministry official who denounced Zamili disappeared and is presumed dead.

After being arrested and held over a year by the Americans, an Iraqi court acquitted Zamili after a brief trial.

“If I were really involved in those crimes, the courts would have convicted me,” Zamili said.

Right.

Anyway, the point is that as we’ve been saying for months, Shiite politicians along with Iran-backed militias now control Iraq, which has essentially been reduced to a colony of Tehran.

There will be no unilateral decisions on the part of the US or Turkey to place troops in the country without pushback from Baghdad and everyone involved knows that when Baghdad pushes back, it means Iran disapproves.

As Zamili’s warning makes clear, Iraq (and thereby Iran) won’t be shy about calling in the big guns from Moscow when they feel the situation demands it – and the militas won’t be shy about targeting the “invaders.”

“Turkish interests in Iraq will now be a legitimate target because of Turkey’s assault on Iraqi territories,” Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, one of the Shia militias of the Popular Mobilisation said in a statement. Similarly, Harakat al-Nujaba called Turkey “a terrorist state.” You’re reminded that these groups have a reputation for fearing no one other that Khamenei himself. Not the US, not Turkey, not ISIS, no one
Russia – Turkey today Russian warships do not raise the Turkish flag

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Turkey Detains Russian Ships In Black Sea, Blasts Moscow For Brandishing Rocket Launcher In Strait

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-06/turkey-detains-russian-ships-black-sea-blasts-moscow-brandishing-rocket-launcher-str

Exactly a week ago, we warned that Turkey does have one trump card when it comes to dealing with an angry Russian bear that’s hell bent on making life miserable for Ankara in the wake of Erdogan’s brazen move to shoot down a Russian Su-24 near the Syrian border. Turkey, we explained, could move to close the Bosphorus Strait, cutting one of Moscow’s key supply lines to Latakia.

We went on to explain, that such a move would probably be illegal based on the 1936 Montreux Convention, but as Sputnik noted, “in times of war, the passage of warships shall be left entirely to the discretion of the Turkish government.”

Obviously, Turkey and Russia haven’t formally declared war on one another, but the plane “incident” marked the first time a NATO member has engaged a Russian or Soviet aircraft in more than six decades and given the gravity of that escalation, one would hardly put it past Erdogan to start interfering with Moscow’s warships, especially if it means delaying their arrival in Syria where the Russians are on the verge of restoring an Assad government that’s Turkey despises.

Well sure enough, the tit-for-tat mutual escalation that’s ensued since the Su-24 crash has spilled over into the maritime arena with Moscow and Ankara detaining each other’s ships.

After five Turkish vessels were held at the port of Novorossiysk for “inspections,” Turkey retaliated on Friday by holding four Russian ships at the Black Sea port of Samsun. The following table reveals a hilarious list of the Russian vessels’ alleged infractions which apparently include fire safety violations, pollution prevention violations, and problems with “life saving appliances.”:

One of the vessels – the cargo ship Crystal – has yet to be released.

“Six ships with a Russian flag were checked at Samsun Port on Dec. 5. The ships were found to be in compliance with Port State Control (PSC) rules, a series of international standards that all ships are required to meet, but some problems were subsequently detected in four of the ships,” Hurriyet says, adding that “three of the ships consequently met the requirements and were permitted to leave, but the remaining vessel has not yet been permitted to depart.”

The Crystal apparently lacks the “required documents.”

Obviously, Russia and Turkey are engaged in a bit of petty mutual escalation here, but it’s worth noting that Samsun isn’t far from the Bosphorus:

And while Turkey now appears content to harrass Russian cargo vessels, one shouldn’t discount the possibility that Erodgan will look to do something more provocative now that it looks like the UN will ultimately be dragged into the ISIS oil smuggling debate.

Indeed, Moscow seems to be taking the Bosphorus issue quite seriously because as Hurriyet reported just hours ago, when the Russian warship Caesar Kunikov made its way through the strait on Saturday, a Russian soldier stood on deck with a shoulder ground-to-air missile at the ready.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s response: “For a Russian soldier to display a rocket launcher or something similar while passing on a Russian warship is a provocation. If we perceive a threatening situation, we will give the necessary response.”" Indeed.

And meanwhile, three NATO warships have dropped anchor off Istanbul’s Sarayburnu coast: Portugal’s F-334 NRP Francisco de Almeida, Spain’s F-105 ESPS Blaz de Lezo, and Canada’s FFG-338 HMCS Winnipeg.

Syria condemns US-led coalition for killing 3 government forces

US-led coalition reportedly strikes Syrian army compound, several dead & injured

Syria Sends Protest to UN Over US-Led Coalition Strike on Army Facilities

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151207/1031350219/strikes-syria-facilities-un-coalition.html#ixzz3tf7u8rdJ

http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151207/1031350219/strikes-syria-facilities-un-coalition.html

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has sent an official protest to the UN Security Council of the US-led coalition’s airstrikes on Syrian Army facilities.

A bomber flies over northern Iraq after conducting airstrikes in Syria
© AP Photo/ Senior Airman Matthew Bruch, U.S. Air Force
Four Syrian Soldiers Killed in US-Led Coalition Airstrike – Sources
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Syrian Foreign Ministry has sent an official protest to the UN Security Council over the US-led coalition’s airstrikes on Syrian Army facilities in Deir ez-Zor, Syria’s official SANA news agency reported Monday.

“Syria strongly condemns the act of aggression by the US-led coalition that contradicts the UN Charter on goals and principles. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent letters to the UN Secretary General and the UN Security Council,” the agency quoted the ministry as saying.

US-led airstrikes on a Syrian Army barracks show the international coalition is not serious in its fight against terrorism, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said.

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What is the US cooking up for Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran? “Divide and conquer” on a whole new level

December 7, 2015 -
Svyatoslav Knyazev, PolitRussia -
Translated for Fort Russ by J. Arnoldski

“Turkey versus Iraq and Syria: prologue of the Third World War?”

Military publications and information agencies have exploded with the news that Turkish security forces are beginning to consolidate on Iraq territory. For the last few days, the Turkish army has been crossing the Syrian border and started digging in and equipping their border positions. Earlier, Turkish armed forces had already penetrated into both Syrian and Iraq territory (and “experts” were sure that they had been there the whole time), but this time we are dealing with a fundamentally new approach.

In February 2015, the Turks went a few dozen kilometers into Syrian territory to evacuate the remains of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman Shah, and protect their honor. In September 2015, Turkish armed forces held a short-term operation against activists of the Kurdish Workers Party in Iraq not long after a clash with police in Turkey. Plus, for quite some time Turkish air forces have attacked the Kurds under the pretext of fighting Daesh. Turkey’s willfulness, of course, is not liked by Baghdad or Damascus, but air raids are one thing. A totally different thing is an actual occupation.

On November 26, the Turkish army broke into the territory of Syria and captured the border height tal-Sieb. It started with infantry accompanied with construction equipment. And then, after the erection of fortifications, tanks and light armored equipment were placed on the heights. Various media report that the local residents were convinced that this was all done with the aim of covering oil exports of the terrorists to Turkey, so that external forces would not prevent Daesh’s peaceful hydrocarbon trade, and in order to replenish the family budget of the country’s leadership.

And now units of the Turkish army have already “materialized” in the area of Bashiq near Mosul in Iraq. In the beginning there was talk of a company, then a battalion of infantry reinforced by 20-25 tanks. That is, there was talk of a battalion-tactical group capable of performing separate tasks. In particular, one capable of retaining positions or landing areas until the arrival of the main forces located not far away.

In general, according to media reports, directly on the south-eastern border of Turkey more than 1,000 armored vehicles, or about 8 brigades, are now concentrated. Given the size of the Turkish army, in a short time this grouping could be expanded significantly.

Unlike previous “raids,” the Turks seem to be accustoming themselves to being in Iraq and Syria for a while.

The intention to train the Turkish-loyal Kurdish militia group “Peshmerga” was officially announced. But in fact, there is a bigger question. Why are groups loyal to Turkey not being prepared on its own territory? Why go to a territory which, according to news agencies, is controlled by the “Islamic State.” Moreover, nothing has been heard of supposed conflicts between Turkish forces and the Islamic State.

Official Baghdad in a rage

Iraq authorities have stated that they gave no permission for this entry onto their territory and they have demanded that it their territory be left immediately. Turkey has pretended that it doesn’t hear anything. Then the head of the Iraq parliamentary committee on security and defense, Hakim al-Zamili, officially appealed to the government to airstrike the positions of Turkish occupational forces.

And, if the decision will be made, the consequences could be unpredictable. Given the policies of Ankara in recent times, being three our four times wrong as an aggressor, Turkey nonetheless believes that those who it his committing acts of aggression against have no right to use force. And Iraq, in this situation, might be blamed as the aggressor with all the ensuing consequences.

The situation is quite delicate, remembering that the US is officially continuing to “nurture” official Baghdad and that Turkey is a NATO ally and has recently, clearly been the pet of the alliance. Here it should be noted that relations between Washington and Baghdad are becoming more and more formal at an eye level. Iraqi authorities have openly pro-Iranian positions, and Tehran is clearly closer to them in every sense than their overseas “partners” who are bombing their country back to the stone age. In the words of American authorities, there is all the less heat aimed at Baghdad while there is more undisguised irritation at the growing influence of Tehran in the region and, indirectly, Moscow.

Turkey, despite the fact that the US has publicly distanced itself from the Mosul situation, is unlikely to decide on an invasion of a foreign territory without approval from Washington. Moreover, the situation is slippery. This member of the alliance’s troops could be struck at. But this would not be a strike at the territory of a member of the alliance, but against what is in fact an occupation force on a different territory. Formally, the allies have all the legal bases to politely (or rudely) refuse to support Ankara. But how everything will actually turn out is unknown. However, it is 90% probable that Turkey will not just leave its soldiers to be bombed. And then a spark can ignite a flame. And it is very likely that Iran will be compelled to come to the aid of its friends and fellow believers in Iraq.

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URGENT: Popular Forces’ Top Commander Warns to Target US Bases, Turkey’s Military Interests in Iraq
URGENT: Russian Fighter Jets Start Using Two More Airbases in Syria
US Fighter Jets Attack Syrian Army Base in Deir Ezzur, 4 Soldiers Killed
Images Show Turkey Covertly Constructing Airbase in Northern Iraq
US Attempting to Infiltrate Syria via Jordan
Over 1,000 Volunteer Forces Join Army in Quneitra, Damascus
Syrian Forces Retake Palmyra-Homs Highway
Syrian Army Unearths Rebels’ Large Supply Tunnel in Damascus
URGENT: Militants Withdraw form More Territories South of Syria’s

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