generalspeaking

Shaking Hands With The Devil

"He apparently is extremely efficient in what he's doing and he is feared by many individuals. He's a soldier and he's a dedicated soldier to his cause and to his leader."
"A number of former and current Revolutionary Guard commanders ... changed their opinion about the regime, they became more critical. But Suleimani remained one of those who was extremely loyal to [Khomeini's successor, Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei. He enjoys, obviously, the absolute confidence of the leader."
Houchang Hassan-Yari, Middle East specialist, Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario

"Often when Iran is accused of supporting terrorism, what [people are] referring to is the activities of the Quds brigade."
"The Alawite regime under Assad looked like it was going to collapse. Then the Revolutionary Guard starts showing up, along with Hezbollah. They start to organize and provide military support for the regime. Now ... it doesn't look like it's going to be overthrown anymore because of the Quds forces and their ability to organize militias."
"In fact, it appears he's been taking some of the militias that he set up in Syria and he's brought them back into Iraq."
"[The Quds Force] appeared to help the Americans in 2001 when they overthrew the Taliban in Afghanistan], but later on when the Americans moved in, there have been a lot of rumours and suggestions that they've helped the Taliban in other ways afterward."
"ISIS ... as much as they're anti-American, they're more anti-Shiite. Right now you can see Iran's preference is to have a relatively stable, cohesive Iraq."
"They can co-operate with the Americans to a degree, but there's a limit on that .... The optics would be absolutely terrible for the Iranian regime to get too close to the Americans."
James Devine, assistant professor, political and international relations, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick

Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, BBC Persian

Well, there's an interesting scenario; 57-year-old seasoned conflict strategist Iranian General Qasem Soleimani entering Iraq, Iran's next-door neighbour with whom a prolonged multi-year war of human attrition was fought, between Shiite Iran and then-Sunni-controlled Iraq, all of which was overturned when the United States occupied Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein and install a shared government which quickly became a Shiite-controlled government. And now opposing that Shiite government in Iraq which makes Iran feel so comfortable, is a 47-year-old Sunni Sheik Ahmed Al-Dabash, who helped found the Islamic Army of Iraq which has made common cause with the Islamic State of Iraq & Al-Sham.

The Middle East with its tribal, ethnic and sectarian hatreds, always a powder keg of nasty accusation, blame and hatred, with vicious flare-ups of conflict here and there has finally inflamed itself to full-blown mass murder, in the name of the same umbrella: Islam. An Islam with alternate pretensions to legitimacy, Sunni believing the Shiites are heretics and Shiites convinced the Sunnis are non-authentic Muslims, impostors, insults to Islam. Each claiming to represent the true Islam, each is intent on establishing themselves as the true inheritors of the Prophet Mohammad.

General Suleimani, commander of the Quds Force, has addressed himself to the Sunni militias threatening to tear Iraq apart. As head of the secretive branch of the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps operating outside Iran's borders he has influence and power, able to call upon Hezbollah and Hamas, and other groups similarly inclined throughout the globe. He has been involved in orchestrating attacks in Southeast Asia and Africa, of aiding Hezbollah in the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and in destabilizing Iraq and the same in Afghanistan to drive out the Americans.

He has a long reach, and is focused entirely on advancing the Islamic Republic of Iran's interests throughout the world. He has seen fit on occasion to work with the United States when he perceives Iranian interests to be involved, that he do so. Advancing the doctrine of the Islamic Republic is his motivation, one from which he will not be moved. And now he is in Iraq, the master in charge of Iraq's military reaction to fighters from ISIS, along with allied challenges to the regime from the Sunni population of virulently disaffected Iraqis.

This man single-handedly controls Iran's foreign policy in Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and Afghanistan. He commands a group of about 15,000 expert military, indoctrinated and committed like himself to the Iranian regime. He is known to work with anyone; conventional ally or traditional enemy, if to do so will help to advance Iran in any measure -- for whatever benefits Iran, advances his own interests in serving his country. Stationed in Baghdad, General Soleimani is busy mobilizing Shiite militias.

The U.S. administration, past and present, has allied itself with the Shiite population more than the Sunnis in Iraq, despite that America's alliances within the Middle East in various Arab countries has always been with their Sunni leaders, since most of those nations represent Sunni majorities. As such, the Obama administration has made it clear they are open to talks with Tehran, which automatically includes conferring with General Suleimani and the Quds Force.

That co-operation, to the outraged and helpless chagrin of Saudi Arabia [which has been supporting the Sunnis] and Israel [which abhors and fears Iran], would represent the sharing of intelligence and communication with respect to where troops in conflict with the regime will be on the ground. And the American administration, in making that choice, would be in direct communication with a regime in Iran with whom they have been in conflict for decades, one which presents as a potential danger with future nuclear arms, while also employing terrorist proxies.

Despite which, the current situation which could be claimed to be partially of the making of the United States, almost as much as the incontrovertible fact of sectarian hatreds bursting into full-blown civil war, would see the United States conferring with General Soleimani in hopes of bringing the collapse of Iraq to a thudding halt. "We are talking about a very volatile region, security-wise a very, very unstable region. In that sense, obviously military plays a significant role", stated Mr. Hassan-Yari.

Labels: AlQuds, Conflict, Hezbollah, Iraq, Islamism, Shiite, Sunni, Terrorism

posted by Pieface @ Monday, June 23, 2014