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John Kerry Arrives in Iraq for Talks on ISIS John Kerry Arrives in Iraq for Talks on ISIS
(about 4 hours later)
BAGHDAD — Secretary of State John Kerry arrived here on Wednesday for top-level talks to forge a coalition against the Sunni militants who have seized control of much of northern and western Iraq and to show support for Iraq’s new government. BAGHDAD — Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that Iraqi leaders had made sufficient political progress to warrant joint United States-Iraqi action against the Sunni militants who have seized much of northern and western Iraq, and indicated that the United States was now prepared to help train Iraq’s security forces.
The Obama administration has made the formation of an inclusive Iraqi government a precondition for expanded security assistance to Baghdad in its fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. “We stand by Iraq,” Mr. Kerry said after a whirlwind series of meetings with the Iraqi government’s new leaders. “And we stand by them as they fight to overcome their single greatest threat.”
Mr. Kerry met with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the Shiite politician who has taken over from Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. Mr. Kerry also plans to consult with Fuad Masum, the Kurd who serves as Iraq’s new president, and Salim al-Jubouri, a Sunni and the speaker of Parliament. The United States carried out airstrikes on ISIS targets in northern Iraq last month, but Mr. Kerry, like other Obama administration officials, ruled out the addition of American combat troops. He said the United States, along with other nations, would help train and rebuild the Iraqi military.
Even though two crucial and potentially divisive posts remained unfilled — those of the defense and interior ministers — Mr. Kerry has described the progress made in forming a power-sharing government as a “major milestone” and administration officials believe it is a sufficient basis to hold detailed talks on a joint strategy against ISIS. He also highlighted the Iraqis’ decision to create new national guard units that would be recruited locally and given the main responsibility for security in their home areas; they are also likely to require foreign assistance.
Iraq will have a “critical role” in the effort to “degrade and ultimately eventually defeat” ISIS, a senior State Department official told reporters traveling with Mr. Kerry, “and that will be the main focus on his talks.” The Shiite-led government of the former prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, left many Iraqi Sunnis and Kurds feeling disenfranchised. As it sought support among Sunnis for its goal of creating a Muslim caliphate spanning Syria and Iraq, ISIS exploited those sectarian tensions, which had been aggravated by Mr. Maliki’s government.
Mr. Kerry met with Mr. Abadi in the same vast and ornate place that the United States used as its headquarters during its occupation of Iraq. It now serves as an office for the new Iraqi prime minister The Obama administration has made the formation of an inclusive Iraqi government a precondition for expanded security assistance to Baghdad in its fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the Sunni militant group that has overrun much of the country since June.
A major purpose of Mr. Kerry’s visit is to press Iraqi leaders to continue their efforts to establish an inclusive government in which the Shia majority will share power the Sunnis and Kurds — a step that the Obama administration has insisted is a precondition for expanded security cooperation in fighting ISIS. Some Sunni tribal leaders and Kurdish officials have expressed skepticism in recent weeks about the prospects for genuine power sharing, and some important pieces of the political puzzle have yet to be filled in, including the selection of the defense and interior ministers.
Mr. Abadi was well aware of the political requirement and sought in brief remarks when the press was briefly let into the meeting to demonstrate that the Iraqis were making headway on a power-sharing arrangement. But in public remarks before their one-on-one meeting, Mr. Kerry and Haider al-Abadi, the new Shiite prime minister, said the requirement for inclusivity was being met.
“Everybody is on board,” he said, speaking in fluent English as he appealed for international support in taking on the militants. “Everybody is on board,” Mr. Abadi said in fluent English, referring to Iraq’s often disputatious Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish populations.
“They are a challenge to the whole region,” he said. “What is happening in Syria is coming across to Iraq.” Mr. Kerry met with Mr. Abadi in the same vast and ornate palace that the United States used as its political headquarters during its occupation of Iraq and that now serves as an office for the new Iraqi prime minister. “We are very encouraged,” Mr. Kerry said.
In a gesture of support, Mr. Kerry asserted that progress was being made on forming an inclusive government and in resolving longstanding disputes with the Kurds on oil export arrangements, but offered no details. Mr. Kerry also met with Fuad Masum, the Kurd who is Iraq’s new president, and Salim al-Jubouri, a Sunni and the speaker of Parliament. Under an informal political bargain forged after the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the Iraqi presidency is held by a Kurd, the speaker of Parliament is a Sunni Arab and the position of prime minister, the most powerful post, goes to a Shiite.
“We are very encouraged,” Mr. Kerry said American officials had promoted the establishment of locally recruited national guard units as a major initiative to roll back ISIS’s gains in Iraq.
Mr. Kerry also said he planned give the Iraqis a preview of the address President Obama plans to give Wednesday night on how to the United States could help Iraq fight ISIS. In an echo of the Sunni Awakening program, in which Iraqi tribes made common cause with American forces during the occupation to fight Al Qaeda in Iraq, some of the national guard units would be draw from local tribes.
Iraq is still riven with sectarian divisions, which ISIS has exploited by playing on the Sunni resentments against Mr. Maliki, many of whom continue to harbor suspicions of Mr. Abadi’s efforts. But in one major difference, the national guard soldiers would formally be part of Iraq’s security structure and would be trained on Iraqi military bases. Reporting to local governors, they would also receive salaries and pensions from the government.
One major initiative to roll back ISIS gains in Iraq, American officials said, is the establishment of national guard units that would be recruited locally and given the main security responsibilities in their home areas. The plan is intended to rebuild the fighting capability the Iraqi government lost after many of its soldiers deserted or quit fighting in the face of ISIS’s onslaught.
In an echo of the Sunni Awakening, in which Iraqi tribes made common cause with American forces to fight Al Qaeda in Iraq, some of the national guard units would be drawn from local tribes. But unlike the Awakening, the soldiers would formally be part of Iraq’s security structure and would be trained on Iraqi military bases. Reporting to local governors, they would also receive salaries and pensions from the government. The decentralization of security responsibilities is also intended to ease sectarian tensions by giving Sunnis more control over their own affairs and reducing the need for a largely Shiite army to be deployed on their territory.
The plan is intended to rebuild the fighting capability that the Iraqi government lost after much of its army faded away in the face of the ISIS onslaught. It would also replace the ad hoc arrangements for paying Awakening members that eventually led to the initiative’s demise.
The decentralization of security responsibilities is also intended to ease sectarian tensions by giving Sunnis more control over their own affairs and reducing the need for the largely Shiite army to be deployed on their territory. And it would replace the ad hoc arrangements for paying Awakening members that eventually led to its demise. “The people of Anbar will take on ISIL,” a senior State Department official told reporters traveling with Mr. Kerry, using an alternative name for ISIS. “The people of Nineveh will take on ISIL in Nineveh, and they will have assistance from the national army when they need it.
“The people of Anbar will take on ISIL,” the State Department official added, using an alternative name for ISIS. “The people of Nineveh will take on ISIL in Nineveh, and they will have assistance from the national army when they need it.” “One thing Abadi has said repeatedly,” the official added, “is that he is not going to use military units from the south and go into areas in the north and west” to fight ISIS.
“One thing Abadi has said repeatedly,” the official added, “is that he is not going to use “military units from the south and go into areas in the north and west” to fight ISIS. But the plan still requires assistance from the United States and other nations in training and advising the Iraqi military forces who would back up the local guard units. And it requires a major effort to enlist Sunnis, persuade them to pledge allegiance to the Iraqi government, and equip and train them so they would be a credible fighting force.
But the plan still requires assistance from the United States or other nations in training and advising the Iraqi military that would back up the local forces. And it requires a major effort to enlist Sunnis in the new national guard units, persuade them to pledge loyalty to the Iraqi government and equip and train them so they would be a credible fighting force. In a news conference before departing Baghdad, Mr. Kerry said the United States was not coordinating its military actions in Iraq with Iran.
“So the core principle in Iraq of what comes after ISIL is now pretty well laid out,” said the State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under the State Department’s protocol for briefing reporters. “It’s going to be a very difficult, long road to get there.” Pressed to explain why Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders could not overcome years of differences over revenue sharing, oil policy and the role of former members of Mr. Hussein’s Baath Party, Mr. Kerry insisted that they had learned to cooperate.
Iraq is just the first stop for Mr. Kerry on his travels in the Middle East to try to line up support against ISIS. “Every single leader that I talked to,” he said, “affirmed that they had learned lessons in the last years.”
Mr. Kerry will also be meeting in Amman with King Abdullah II of Jordan. And he will travel to Jidda, Saudi Arabia, where Saudi and other Arab officials are gathering to discuss how to respond to the threat posed by ISIS. Iraq is just the first stop for Mr. Kerry on his travels in the Middle East and Europe to try to line up support for the fight against ISIS.
Saudi Arabia and other gulf states also have influence with Iraq’s Sunnis, and American officials hope they will encourage them to line up against ISIS and cooperate with the new Iraqi government, including the new decentralized security structure that is envisaged and the national guard units. Mr. Kerry will also be meeting in Amman, Jordan, Wednesday evening with King Abdullah. And he will be traveling to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday, where Saudi and other Arab officials are gathering to discuss how to respond to the ISIS threat.
After leaving the Middle East, Mr. Kerry will fly to Paris to attend an international conference on Iraq’s future and the threat posed by ISIS, Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said Wednesday. Mr. Kerry also plans to attend an international conference on Iraq that is being convened in Paris early next week.