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| France Plans to Ship Arms to Embattled Kurdish Forces in Iraq | France Plans to Ship Arms to Embattled Kurdish Forces in Iraq |
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| PARIS — European nations moved on Wednesday to intensify their involvement in Iraq, announcing further humanitarian aid and, for the first time, pledging to supply arms to the embattled Kurdish forces fighting the Sunni militants who have overrun much of northern Iraq. | |
| The shift is an important one for Europe, where the legacy of the first Iraq war remains divisive, but several factors in the current conflict are steadily tilting nations here toward deeper engagement now that President Obama has begun sending military advisers for the first time since American troops left in 2011. | The shift is an important one for Europe, where the legacy of the first Iraq war remains divisive, but several factors in the current conflict are steadily tilting nations here toward deeper engagement now that President Obama has begun sending military advisers for the first time since American troops left in 2011. |
| Analysts said that the images of dusty families sleeping in the open on a barren, rocky mountain had put pressure on officials to take action, despite what for many here remains the toxic legacy of the American-led invasion of 2003. | Analysts said that the images of dusty families sleeping in the open on a barren, rocky mountain had put pressure on officials to take action, despite what for many here remains the toxic legacy of the American-led invasion of 2003. |
| For Europeans, the specter of a humanitarian calamity — particularly involving what is being portrayed here as a Christian minority — has resonated. | For Europeans, the specter of a humanitarian calamity — particularly involving what is being portrayed here as a Christian minority — has resonated. |
| It has also combined with growing security concerns over what are estimated to be thousands of Europeans who have gone as “jihadist tourists” to join the ranks of the Islamist insurgency that now straddles Syria and Iraq. | It has also combined with growing security concerns over what are estimated to be thousands of Europeans who have gone as “jihadist tourists” to join the ranks of the Islamist insurgency that now straddles Syria and Iraq. |
| Even France, which refused to have anything to do with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, announced Wednesday that it would send arms to help alleviate a “catastrophic situation” in the north, where the militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria had been threatening Christians and encircling members of the Yazidi religious minority on remote Mount Sinjar. | Even France, which refused to have anything to do with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, announced Wednesday that it would send arms to help alleviate a “catastrophic situation” in the north, where the militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria had been threatening Christians and encircling members of the Yazidi religious minority on remote Mount Sinjar. |
| In Britain, too, where the legacy of involvement in Iraq has been contentious, there is mounting pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to take a more assertive stance. | In Britain, too, where the legacy of involvement in Iraq has been contentious, there is mounting pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to take a more assertive stance. |
| Mr. Cameron, who is keenly aware of the taint that the first Iraq war left on a predecessor, Tony Blair, was initially cool to joining the recent American effort. But on Wednesday, he cut short a holiday in Portugal to address the crisis amid growing calls for military intervention on humanitarian grounds. | Mr. Cameron, who is keenly aware of the taint that the first Iraq war left on a predecessor, Tony Blair, was initially cool to joining the recent American effort. But on Wednesday, he cut short a holiday in Portugal to address the crisis amid growing calls for military intervention on humanitarian grounds. |
| The government in London continued to insist that it was focused on humanitarian relief efforts, notably to get water and other supplies to the Yazidis who were trapped on the mountain until late Wednesday, rather than on offering direct military involvement. | The government in London continued to insist that it was focused on humanitarian relief efforts, notably to get water and other supplies to the Yazidis who were trapped on the mountain until late Wednesday, rather than on offering direct military involvement. |
| But Mr. Cameron and other officials said Wednesday that British planes would now be transporting munitions from eastern Europe to the Kurdish forces. | But Mr. Cameron and other officials said Wednesday that British planes would now be transporting munitions from eastern Europe to the Kurdish forces. |
| Britain has also sent three Tornado warplanes on surveillance missions to support airdrops by C-130 military cargo planes. | Britain has also sent three Tornado warplanes on surveillance missions to support airdrops by C-130 military cargo planes. |
| Germany, which like France opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, announced Wednesday that it would dispatch nonlethal equipment to Kurds, including heavy trucks, bulletproof vests, bedding and tents. | Germany, which like France opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, announced Wednesday that it would dispatch nonlethal equipment to Kurds, including heavy trucks, bulletproof vests, bedding and tents. |
| “It is something which offends us all, the advance of bloodthirsty extremists,” said a government spokesman, Steffen Seibert. “We know it is urgent to act.” | “It is something which offends us all, the advance of bloodthirsty extremists,” said a government spokesman, Steffen Seibert. “We know it is urgent to act.” |
| The steps by European governments coincided with what seemed to be the gathering pace of American efforts to help evacuate the thousands of trapped Yazidis. | The steps by European governments coincided with what seemed to be the gathering pace of American efforts to help evacuate the thousands of trapped Yazidis. |
| Beyond the humanitarian aspects, however, for Europeans there are also domestic political and security interests increasingly at stake. | Beyond the humanitarian aspects, however, for Europeans there are also domestic political and security interests increasingly at stake. |
| “It’s more than the details that are so different this time,” said François Heisbourg, a special adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research, a Paris think tank. | “It’s more than the details that are so different this time,” said François Heisbourg, a special adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research, a Paris think tank. |
| Mr. Heisbourg said that the French and others “consider that they have a degree of responsibility for Christians in the Middle East,” something he said he believed the Germans felt as well. | Mr. Heisbourg said that the French and others “consider that they have a degree of responsibility for Christians in the Middle East,” something he said he believed the Germans felt as well. |
| In addition, he said that the French were also motivated by the notion that any weakening of ISIS would help them reduce the dangers they saw in the return of young men from Europe who had gone to fight with the extremists. | In addition, he said that the French were also motivated by the notion that any weakening of ISIS would help them reduce the dangers they saw in the return of young men from Europe who had gone to fight with the extremists. |
| The French announcement on Wednesday came on the heels of an opinion article published by the three former prime ministers who currently control the country’s main opposition party, the conservative Union for a Popular Movement, or UMP, calling for the country to take action. | The French announcement on Wednesday came on the heels of an opinion article published by the three former prime ministers who currently control the country’s main opposition party, the conservative Union for a Popular Movement, or UMP, calling for the country to take action. |
| “The Near East burns and Europe is looking elsewhere,” wrote François Fillon, Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Alain Juppé, in Le Monde. | “The Near East burns and Europe is looking elsewhere,” wrote François Fillon, Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Alain Juppé, in Le Monde. |
| The three called for a “massive engagement” by European nations, including an immediate program of further humanitarian aid and “a collective policy to supply arms to the Kurdish fighters who constitute the lone rampart against the massacre of the Christians of Iraq.” | The three called for a “massive engagement” by European nations, including an immediate program of further humanitarian aid and “a collective policy to supply arms to the Kurdish fighters who constitute the lone rampart against the massacre of the Christians of Iraq.” |
| European Union foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the conflicts in Iraq and Ukraine. The European Union commission failed to establish a common policy among its 28 members concerning arms supplies on Tuesday, but concluded that individual states could, in agreement with Baghdad, send weapons to the Kurdish pesh merga forces who are facing the militants from ISIS. | European Union foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the conflicts in Iraq and Ukraine. The European Union commission failed to establish a common policy among its 28 members concerning arms supplies on Tuesday, but concluded that individual states could, in agreement with Baghdad, send weapons to the Kurdish pesh merga forces who are facing the militants from ISIS. |
| Britain’s limited involvement has drawn complaints from high-profile former military commanders that the country, which played a central role in enforcing a no-fly zone that shielded the Kurds in the Saddam Hussein era, should do more now that Kurds are threatened. | Britain’s limited involvement has drawn complaints from high-profile former military commanders that the country, which played a central role in enforcing a no-fly zone that shielded the Kurds in the Saddam Hussein era, should do more now that Kurds are threatened. |
| Col. Tim Collins of the British Army, who gained prominence in the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, said the British aid effort was a “pebble in the ocean” compared with what was needed. | Col. Tim Collins of the British Army, who gained prominence in the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, said the British aid effort was a “pebble in the ocean” compared with what was needed. |
| “We should also be taking part in airstrikes and urging our coalition partners, including Turkey, France, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to take part,” he wrote in The Daily Telegraph. | “We should also be taking part in airstrikes and urging our coalition partners, including Turkey, France, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to take part,” he wrote in The Daily Telegraph. |
| The newspaper also quoted Gen. Mike Jackson, the head of the British Army during the Iraq invasion, as saying: “Given our history over recent years in Iraq, we have a moral duty to do what we can on humanitarian grounds. I would have no difficulty at all in saying that we should be alongside the United States and up the British ante to the use of air power, on humanitarian grounds.” | The newspaper also quoted Gen. Mike Jackson, the head of the British Army during the Iraq invasion, as saying: “Given our history over recent years in Iraq, we have a moral duty to do what we can on humanitarian grounds. I would have no difficulty at all in saying that we should be alongside the United States and up the British ante to the use of air power, on humanitarian grounds.” |