Iraq crisis: UK and US consider action to help counter insurgency

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/13/iraqi-crisis-uk-us-action-help-counter-insurgency

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The UK and the US are considering action to assist the Iraqi government in the face of the current insurgency, including providing counter-terrorism expertise.

John Kerry told reporters in London that the US was "laser-focused" on the crisis. The secretary of state said he had a comprehensive meeting with Barack Obama on Thursday at which "we discussed a range of options, including military action, to provide support for the Iraqi government to respond to their request at this difficult time".

He added: "Given the gravity of the situation I would anticipate timely decisions from the president regarding the challenge."

In recent months, the US has increased surveillance aid and military aid and training.

"I am confident the US will move rapidly and effectively to join with our allies in dealing with this challenge," Kerry said, describing the insurgents as a "brutal enemy" that posed a threat to US interests, as well as those of its allies in Europe and the Middle East.

William Hague, the British foreign secretary, said the UK was not planning a military intervention but may provide assistance in the form of counter-terrorism expertise, alongside the US. A British team of emergency aid experts had arrived in northern Iraq on Friday to offer humanitarian assistance, he said.

"In the UK, we are not planning a British military intervention, but we are looking urgently at other ways to help, for example with counter-terrorism expertise. Work is under way on that now and we will continue to liaise closely with our United States allies in particular on that," Hague said.

"A British team of emergency aid experts from DfID [the Department for International Development] arrived in Iraq early this morning and are looking urgently at what the UK can do on that front. We will also continue to work urgently within the UN security council to help concert the wider international response."

Hague said the UK was focusing on three objectives: to stabilise the situation; to gain a united response by the Iraqi leadership to the "brutal aggression"; to ensure humanitarian support for more than half a million displaced people in the north of the country.

Kerry said the fall of the city of Mosul to Sunni insurgents was a "wake-up call for all of Iraq's political leaders" who needed to show unity in the face of the challenge.

"Political division, fuelled by ethnic or sectarian differences, simply cannot be allowed to steal from the Iraqi people what so many have given so much for over these … last years," Kerry said. It was a "fight" for a pluralistic, tolerant society, he added.

The pair were speaking at a press conference to mark the end of a four-day summit in London on sexual violence in conflict, co-hosted by Hague and the actor Angelina Jolie.

The eyes of the world had been opened to the prevalence of rape and sexual violence in war zones by the gathering of representatives of 123 countries, about 1,000 experts, scores of NGOs, and survivors, Hague said, describing it as an "extraordinary and inspiring" conference.

"I hope it is a moment we will look back on and say this was where we started to tip the tipping point, this was where we started to turn the tide, this was where we demonstrated to millions of people that it is possible to succeed in defeating and ending sexual violence in conflict," he told the closing session.

Women needed to be involved in peace talks and other decision-making forums, he added. "When we return to peace negotiations in Syria, there is no excuse for them not including the full participation of women."

After four years as foreign secretary, he said, "I'm convinced that the greatest strategic prize of the 21st century is the full social, political and economic empowerment of women everywhere".

Jolie, Kerry and the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, also addressed the final session, and 155 countries endorsed a declaration of commitment to end sexual violence in conflict. A protocol, detailing the best practice in gathering evidence of sexual crimes for future prosecution, was launched at the summit.

Some activist groups and NGOs accused the British government of hypocrisy for hosting the conference while failing to protect victims of sexual violence when they arrive as war refugees. Several women disrupted a session at which the Home Office minister Karen Bradley was speaking on Thursday, unfurling a banner saying: "UK stop imprisoning and deporting rape survivors".