Flights of Iranian weapons to Syria through Iraqi airspace, which a senior State Department official said were occurring on nearly a daily basis, have been crucial for the government of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, which faces increasing pressure from rebel fighters. Kerry said he had a discussion with Mr. Maliki about the issue, but there was no signs that the Iraqis would alter their position.
The air corridor over Iraq has emerged as a main route of military aid to Mr. Assad’s government. The shipments include rockets, antitank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, and Iranian personnel, according to American intelligence officials. There are supply lines on the ground as well.
Iran has as an enormous stake in Syria, which is its staunchest Arab ally and has provided a channel for Iran’s support to the Islamist movement Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Syria is also important to the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government, led by Mr. Maliki. Fearing that Mr. Assad’s overthrow would lead to Sunni control and embolden the Iraqi Sunnis who oppose him, Mr. Maliki has been seen as tolerating the Iranian flights.
Ryan Crocker, the former American ambassador in Baghdad, has urged the Obama administration to step up its engagement with Iraqi leaders. "What it is time for," Mr. Crocker told a conference at the Carnegie Endowment on International Peace last week, is "sustained engagement."
Aides to Mr. Kerry said that was one purpose of his trip.
So I just wrote a long paragraph - eloquently worded I may add - that got deleted when I hit publish. So here's the gist of it. Funneling diplomatic efforts through Iraq is no way to go about dealing with Iran. The nation and its leaders are in no position to deal with Iran, let alone pressure Iran at the behest of the United States; Iran will not bend to such weak U.S. efforts. Like Mr. Crocker said, Mr. Kerry and the Obama administration had better step up to the plate and start playing hardball with the Iranians or risk not achieving its aims and in the process appearing weak in the region and detached from its rhetoric.
ReplyDeleteTo further drive home my point, here's a video of Mr. Kerry playing softball. I assume its similar to what the Obama administration's diplomatic efforts with Iran look like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sUOvJ6b4Rg
Thank you for your reply, I really enjoyed this video of Kerry and Brown. I agree with the fact that funneling efforts through Iraq is not the way to deal with Iran and the fact that the Obama administration needs to deal with Iran rather than standby, but as I'm Syria, my country seems to be causing a lot more turmoil in the area for all of its neighbors and the further erosion of relations of countries nearby.
ReplyDelete