http://en.firatajans.com/news/news/kck-the-kurds-have-doubts-about-international-coalition.htm
Anti War....
Instead of dropping the shipments of food, water, and ammunition on the besieged base, many of the pilotsmistakenly dropped the supplies on the ISIS fightersthemselves.
The poll showed 72% of Americans believe that the US will end up using ground troops in combat in the war on ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The poll showed Americans split roughly down the middle on whether a ground war would be acceptable, if demanded by Pentagon leadership.
Witnesses in Turkey say that the US airstrikes today hit anddestroyed three makeshiftrefineries along the border. Administration officials have made much of the refineries being a key source of financing for ISIS.
The idea is particularly puzzling in the northeast, since the US and its allies have been bombing ISIS targets in the exact same region. Since the US air war began, the Assad military has shifted its focus to the northwest, where other rebel factions are, allowing the US to do its dirty work for them.
With the hostages freed, Turkish officials are now opening up to the possibility of some military role, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying the country could take a role in future fighting against ISIS.
Tweets for Monday
KCK: The Kurds have doubts about international coalition
ANF - BEHDINAN28.09.2014 10:30:10
The KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council Presidency has issued a statement drawing attention to the fact that international powers that claim to have set up a coalition to combat ISIS have not intervened in Kobanê.
The KCK said that in Kobanê a struggle similar to the resistance against fascism during WWII had been displayed, adding that the international coalition had not intervened against ISIS.
Remarking that the encouraging of ISIS by coalition war planes bombing other places will not be accepted, KCK stressed that if there is a tragedy in Kobanê then the Kurds and public opinion will hold Turkey, the USA, Europe and the other countries in the coalition responsible.
"The bombing of other places in Syria and Iraq while ignoring Kobanê has aroused suspicion amongst the Kurds and public opinion. If there is a tragedy in Kobanê then the Kurds and public opinion will hold Turkey, the USA, Europe and the other countries in the coalition responsible. It is not acceptable for coalition war planes to strike other places while there is a great resistance going on against ISIS in Kobanê", KCK said and described the attacks of the Turkish state at the Kobanê border as a war against the Kurdish people.
The KCK statement underlined that; "The people of Kobanê and YPG and YPJ fighters have been resisting heroically for 13 days. This resistance, one of the greatest ever seen, is not just for the Kurdish people but is for all humanity, first and foremost the peoples of the Middle East. The revolutionary forces in Rojava are putting up a resistance similar to that displayed against fascism in the Second World War."
They want to be saviours once the massacre has taken place
Remarking that the whole world watches in astonishment while the international coalition strikes other places in Syria and Iraq and ignores what is going on in Kobanê, KCK said this has also aroused suspicion, adding; “If they are reckoning on waiting until a slaughter has taken place and then intervening, as is usually the case, then no one will accept this. Humanity demands something be done before a massacre takes place.”
The Turkish state's complicity in crime has been seen again
“The Turkish state, which says it will join the coalition, is constantly opening fire on YPG fighters and vehicles and obstructing their movement. It has also fired on the people of Kobanê, killing one and wounding two others, demonstrating its complicity with ISIS”, KCK recalled, adding that in this way Turkey has declared war on all the people of Kurdistan. KCK pointed out that the Kurdish people should respond to this by stepping up their struggle.
They are encouraging ISIS by hitting other places
The KCK statement emphasised that "If today Kobanê is under attack it is because the Rojava revolution resisted ISIS fascism before anyone else. If there is a tragedy in Kobanê then the Kurds and public opinion will hold Turkey, the USA, Europe and the other countries in the coalition responsible.”
KCK also stated that it is not acceptable for coalition war planes to strike other places while there is a great resistance going on against ISIS in Kobanê.
The KCK ended the statement by calling on all the peoples of the world to support the resistance of the people of Kobanê, to repulse and defeat ISIS fascism and make the Kobanê resistance the beginning of the end for this fascism.
Anti War....
3,788 Killed Across Iraq in September
by Margaret Griffis, September 30, 2014
Antiwar.com has determined that at least 3,788 people were killed across Iraq during September. These numbers include militants, even foreign ones, killed in Iraq.Another 1,941 were wounded. Our analysis is below.
Meanwhile, freshly equipped Peshmerga forces have apparently made a complete turnaround since losing Sinjar (Shingal in Kurdish) last month and are retaking towns and villages at a quickening pace. Further south, bombs targeting civilians in Baghdad and several Shi’ite cities left a significant number of casualties. Also, British forces conducted their first airstrikes, as the U.S. continued theirs, making this the busiest day for airstrikes across Iraq and Syria yet. The violence left 124 dead and 176 wounded across Iraq on Tuesday. Details follow.
September Casualty Figures:
The number of people killed in Iraq, since the Islamic State invaded in June, is impossible to accurately pin down. Various organizations have reported casualties as they occur, but the Iraqi government has largely avoided reporting all but a few, obvious military deaths. Only today, Kurdish Peshmerga forces revealed about 200 dead and 1,000 injured during battles in Kurdish territory since early August. Most of those casualties were previously unreported, and are not included in our figures for September. Militant deaths are just as difficult, especially those deep within ISIS/DAASH territory.
During September, Antiwar.com compiled at least 1,156 civilian and security member deaths. Another 1,653 were reported wounded. These should be considered the minimum available numbers. The figures will rise as more details are received from rural areas of Iraq and those under militant control. For example, a clearer, if not final, total of the number of dead in a massacre at Camp Speicher wasreleased early in September even though the attack occurred in June. Those deaths were not included in this month’s tally.
Militant casualties reached 2,632 dead and 288 wounded, while Iraq’s military announced that they alone conducted 2,116 sorties in September. It is difficult to gauge how accurate these casualtiy figures are. They could be wild estimates by the Iraqi government, which has been known to downplay or exaggerate figures to suit political purposes. However, many of the battles and airstrikes have been characterized with vague phrases, such as "heavy fighting" and "many killed." Those were not added to the above counts but must have produced some casualties. This suggests that even the militant deaths may have been undercounted. Certainly, the wounded figure is very low compared to the reality; wounded militants would be transported to militant care centers and out of reach of Iraqi casualty counters.
In August, Antiwar.com found that 4,800 were killed and 2,839 were wounded. Although the numbers seem to indicate fewer casualties, it should not be read as such, because accurate numbers simply are not available.
Peshmerga Gains in Northern Iraq:
Peshmerga forces said they were able to take control of Rabeaa, a strategic town near the Syrian border. If Peshmerga forces retain control of the city, they will have cut off a major roadway between Syria and northern Iraq and put a stranglehold on a travel by Islamic State militants between the two countries. Rabeaa was one of the first cities captured in June. Fighting there and elsewhere during the last several weeks has cost the Peshmerga forces 200 lives. Another 1,000 Peshmerga were wounded, according to Peshmerga Spokesman Hikmet Mela Ali. The number of casualties on Tuesday was not given.
ISIS/DAASH militants destroyed their own headquarters and checkpoints as they fled from there and Sinjar. Fighters from the Shammar Tribe helped, and the troops may have had air cover from U.S. fighter planes during the operation. British planes also bombed northwestern Iraq. Kurdish Y.P.G. forces in Syria claimed to have contributed to the operation as well. Heavy fighting also took place in Zumer, near the Mosul dam. Several villages surrounding Rabeaa have also been liberated.
Closer to Kirkuk, the towns of Khaled, Sa’ad, Taza and Wahda were freed. Two Peshmerga were killed and 18 were wounded in the fighting.
Casualties elsewhere in Iraq:
In Baghdad, 20 people were killed and 35 were wounded when two car bombs exploded in the Hurriya district. Five people were killed and 15 were wounded in a mortar attack in Sabaa al-Bour. A bomb in Zaafaraniya killed seven people and wounded 18 others. Mortars left three dead and 12 wounded in Shula.
Eight people were killed and 12 were wounded in Karbala.
Shelling in Falluja left two dead and seven wounded. Clashes left five bystanders dead and 11 wounded.
A blast in Khanaqin killed four Peshmerga and wounded 12 more.
A bomb exploded in an Iskandariya parking lot and killed three people and wounded nine more.
Another in Kefil killed two people and wounded eight more.
In Duluiya, mortars wounded six people. At least eight fighters or civilians were wounded as well. At the very least 17 militants were killed in battles.
A roadside bomb in Daquq wounded six Peshmerga fighters, where heavy fighting is reported.
Four people were killed and seven were wounded during shelling in Tikrit.
Two policemen were shot dead in Hit.
Two people were wounded in a bombing in Basra.
Fifteen militants were killed while trying to attack checkpoints in the recently cleared town of Amiriyat al-Falluja. Airstrikes killed another seven.
Six militants were killed and more were wounded in an airstrike in Saidiya.
Security forces killed five militants in Tarmiya.
Five militants were killed near Baquba.
Tribal forces in Mansouriya killed a militant leader and a companion. Militantsdamaged levees to prevent security forces from approaching them through now-flooded areas.
Heavy fighting is taking place in Rashad.
Airstrikes in Hawija killed several militants.
Many militant vehicles were destroyed, and the militants in them killed, during airstrikes in Thar Thar.
Militants suffered "heavy losses" in a failed attack on Balad.
Several sites in Anbar province were bombed by coalition jets.
Iraq Accidentally Drops Food, Ammo on ISIS Fighters
MP Chalks it Up to Lack of Experience
by Jason Ditz, September 30, 2014
Iraqi military supply helicopters were supposed to be taking shipments of food, water, and ammunition to besieged troops in the Shaqlawah base in Anbar Province late last week, where they’ve been out of the normal supply lines for a week. The supplies were dropped, just not where you’d want them.
Instead of dropping the shipments of food, water, and ammunition on the besieged base, many of the pilotsmistakenly dropped the supplies on the ISIS fightersthemselves.
Which is great for ISIS, who after all is using the same US-made weaponry Iraq’s own military is, largely looted from Iraqi military bases, and might’ve had a hard time finding spare ammunition otherwise.
The bungled airdrops were reported by Iraqi MP Hakim al-Zamill, from the Security and Defense Committee. He said the mistakes were because of “lack of experience of the pilots.”
NBC quoted an unnamed Iraqi brigadier general as confirming the incidents had happened, and Zamill insisted that there will be an investigation into the commanders organizing the mission.
As ‘Advisers’ Role Expands, US ‘Boots on the Ground’ Already in Iraq
Poll: 72% of Americans Don't Believe Obama's Promise of No Ground War
by Jason Ditz, September 28, 2014
When talking up the ISIS war, President Obama always takes time to insist that he’s rule out boots on the ground. A new NBC/WSJ/Annenberg poll shows not that many Americans are believing him.
The poll showed 72% of Americans believe that the US will end up using ground troops in combat in the war on ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The poll showed Americans split roughly down the middle on whether a ground war would be acceptable, if demanded by Pentagon leadership.
It might be a moot point, however, because even though the president keeps insisting “boots on the ground” won’t happen, the expanding roles of the 1,600-plus “advisers”the US has already sent to Iraq means that in many ways, those boots are already on the ground, and already in combat roles in everything but name.
The administration seems cognizant of that, and we’ve seen a shift in rhetoric in recent weeks to emphasize that they won’t send “tens of thousands” or “hundreds of thousands” of combat troops to Iraq, as a way to differentiate the new war from the last US occupation of Iraq.
Even that seems an increasingly unlikely best-case scenario, as the administration escalates the war at an alarming rate, and what was supposed to be an extremely limited “humanitarian intervention” in Iraq’s Mount Sinjar region has become a full-scale war of destruction against ISIS spanning two nations, and which officials concede will last many years.
Americans may not be up for another open-ended ground war in the Middle East, but that’s what they’ve got, and the real question is how long the administration will be able to keep them from realizing it.
Airstrikes, Battles, and Bombings Leave 294 Dead Across Iraq
by Margaret Griffis, September 28, 2014
At least 294 people were killed on Sunday. Over 200 of them were militants who died in airstrikes or battles. Of the 51 were wounded, about half were militants.
Underscoring the desperate need for experienced soldiers, the Iraq Army is granting amnesty for deserters who fled ahead of the tidal wave of Islamic State fighters in June. Although there are large numbers of volunteer troops, they are poorly trained for warfare. Over 11,000 have reenlisted, so far, both in the north and in Baghdad. That is only part of the estimated 30,000 who deserted or were simply told to go home by their commanders.
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have been holed up for ten days near a bridge inMantiqa, hoping their ammunition doesn’t run out.
A bomb at a Baiji mosque killed 21 people, mostly women and children, and wounded several more.
In Amiriyat al-Falluja, clashes left six soldiers and 16 militants dead. An ISIS official was killed in an airstrike.
Six policemen were executed in Shirqat.
Shelling in Falluja killed four civilians and wounded 15 more.
In Mosul, militants executed four young people. Twenty militants were killed in eastern Mosul. An airstrike killed 18 militants and wounded 28 more.
Four volunteer fighters were killed and one more was wounded when mortars fell onTikrit.
Six militants were killed near the Sudor Dam, but so were two security members;two soldiers were wounded.
In Baghdad, gunmen killed a civilian. A dumped body was discovered.
A sniper in Baquba killed one volunteer fighter and wounded another.
Mortar fire wounded four in Jalawla.
In the Ramadi area, 82 militants were killed.
Thirty militants were killed in Makhmour.
An airstrike in Duluiya killed 25 militants.
Eighteen militants were killed in a battle between Ramadi and Saqlawiya.
Eleven militants were killed in Garma.
Between Falluja and Amiriyat al-Fallujah, a militant "judge" and six aides were killed in an airstrike.
An airstrike near Ramadi killed six militants.
Security forces killed five militants in Jurf al-Sakhar.
US Airstrikes Hit More Syria Oil Refineries
Civilian Infrastructure Remains Focus of US Attacks
by Jason Ditz, September 28, 2014
Early in the US air war against ISIS in Syria, warplanes destroyed a dozen portable oilrefineries seen as economically valuable to ISIS. Today, that trend continued with attacks on three more stationary refineries in northern Syria.
Witnesses in Turkey say that the US airstrikes today hit anddestroyed three makeshiftrefineries along the border. Administration officials have made much of the refineries being a key source of financing for ISIS.
Yet as a practical matter the refineries are also the major civilian economic infrastructure of eastern Syria. With ISIS targets not always easy to single out, the US seems to be just hitting anything of economic value now in the hopes of bankrupting the region and, by extension, ISIS.
That means imposing even more economic hardship on the people of eastern Syria through military force in the near term, and also leaves open the question of how the region will recover when, or indeed if, ISIS is ever supplanted by some new faction.
Pentagon: US Considers ‘No-Fly’ Zone Against Assad in Syria
Dempsey: Buffer Zone Might Also Be Possibility
by Jason Ditz, September 26, 2014
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey say that the US is still considering the possibility of establishing a “no-fly zone” over northeastern Syria to deny the Syrian military the ability to launch airstrikes against the rebels therein.
The idea is particularly puzzling in the northeast, since the US and its allies have been bombing ISIS targets in the exact same region. Since the US air war began, the Assad military has shifted its focus to the northwest, where other rebel factions are, allowing the US to do its dirty work for them.
Gen. Dempsey also said that they are considering the Turkish proposal for a “buffer zone” carved out of northern Syria to house refugees. Turkey has sought the zone as a way to get rid of the 1.3 million refugees they’ve been saddled with, while waiting for some regime change to happen in Syria.
That such schemes are even under consideration suggests that the Obama Administration haven’t given up on the idea of expanding their new ISIS war to include Syria’s government as well, even though they’re fighting ISIS as well.
Erdogan: Turkey Could Take Future Military Role Against ISIS
Open to Using Ground Troops for 'Buffer Zone'
by Jason Ditz, September 27, 2014
Though Turkey was loudly touted by the Obama Administration as a key ally added to their anti-ISIS coalition, so far the nation has not agreed to take any military role in the war, and indeed, had previously ruled such a role out over concern about hostages.
With the hostages freed, Turkish officials are now opening up to the possibility of some military role, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying the country could take a role in future fighting against ISIS.
The comments were decidedly non-committal, though Erdogan did say he was open to deploying ground troops into Syria for the creation of a future “buffer zone” along the border.
Turkey had been keen to see a buffer zone created inside Syria as a way of getting rid of some 1.3 million refugees they’ve taken in since the war began. Since much of the Turkish-Syrian border is now ISIS-held, it’s not an ideal place to carve out a temporary refugee camp.
Turkey had proposed the buffer zone years ago, when the Syrian Civil War began, but the fact that they’re once again floating the idea suggests they may be nearing some commitment to the conflict, despite the huge risk of blowback in fighting a war right along their southern border.
Tweets for Monday
Alexblx retweeted
Ruptly Newsroom
Alexblx retweeted
Frank Nordhausen
#Turkey #IS - CHP deputy says can't find decree declaring ISIL a terrorist group ... http://todayszaman.com/_chp-deputy-says-cant-find-decree-declaring-isil-a-terrorist-group_360081.html … via @todayszamancom
Alexblx retweeted
archicivilians 
Wladimir retweeted
Daniele Raineri
According to @martinchulov : "A senior source confirmed that al-Nusra and Isis leaders were now holding war-planning meetings"
Alexblx
As his tacit help for #ISIS shows -Erdogan as no interest in a safe haven for Kurds - his plan is to destroy Kurd #Rojava autonomy in #Syria
Alexblx retweeted
@Hevallo
Turkish 'buffer zones' in Rojava = killing fields & catastrophic consequences for peace process in Turkey between PKK & govt. @AJStream
Wladimir
YPG and Free Syrian Army Announce Agreement - BasNews - http://www.basnews.com/en/News/Details/YPG-and-Free-Syrian-Army-Announce-Agreement/35738 …
Tweets for Sunday.....
US noncommittal over buffer zone on Turkey's borders http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_us-noncommittal-over-buffer-zone-on-turkeys-borders_360154.html …
Memlik Pasha retweeted
ISW
Check out ISW's #Iraq Situation Report for today: http://iswiraq.blogspot.com/2014/09/iraq-situation-report-september-27-28.html …
Sir Malcolm Rifkind: Britain has welcomed close ties, but it’s time to hit Qataris with sanctions http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11126030/Sir-Malcolm-Rifkind-Britain-has-welcomed-close-ties-but-its-time-to-hit-Qataris-with-sanctions.html …
- Abadi reportedly fires 132 ISF officers including 3 lieutenant generals and 24 brigade commanders via @JoelWing2: http://burathanews.com/news/248840.html …
- Abadi also reportedly preparing major changes in the leadership of the Anbar Operations Command after the Camp Saqlawiyah fiasco.
Memlik Pasha 
For those monitoring situation in Kobane (Ayn al-Arab), the ISIS offensive there has followed its consistent multi-stage strategy. #Syria
PT: Stages: (1) periodic shelling & pincer raids (2) concentrated local assault/s on weak points (3) intensified shelling (4) final assault.
PT: That’s a hugely simplified version, but it gives an idea of a strategy aimed at gradually weakening hardened targets. #Syria #Kobane
"The Khorasan narrative evaporated as quickly as it materialized." https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/09/28/u-s-officials-invented-terror-group-justify-bombing-syria/ …
#Turkey Police attack pro #Kobani demos - like this one in #Izmir today - Pro #ISIS demo undisturbed pic.twitter.com/UddliAclFr @PieroCastellano
No possibility of #Erdogan's Kurd Turk 'peace process' continuing - while he helps #ISIS & harms #Syria Kurds #Kobane
http://www.france24.com/en/20140927-kurdish-militants-claim-deadly-ambush-turkeys-southeast/?aef_campaign_date=2014-09-28&aef_campaign_ref=partage_aef&ns_campaign=reseaux_sociaux&ns_linkname=editorial&ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter …
Apparent confirmation that AQ "Khorasan group" ldr Muhsin al-Fadhli killed in the Sept 23 TLAM strike in Kafr Diryan: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0HN0E620140928?irpc=932 …
Oct. 2 as the key date the Turkish Parliament is expected to vote on Turkish intervention in Syria http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-to-do-whatever-needed-in-anti-isil-coalition-erdogan-says.aspx?pageID=238&nID=72238&NewsCatID=510 …
Erdogan: If the U.S. had not conducted those operations, northern Iraq [the Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG] would be gone now (1)
Erdogan: You can’t destroy a terrorist organization with air strikes. The integral force is the ground force (3)
Erdogan: To say that Turkey will never take a military position is wrong. Will other countries protect our borders? No (4)
“The people in these areas hate us and accuse us of sectarianism all the time,” a colonel in the Iraqi army, Aziz al-Rubaie (1)
How can we fight the IS group in these areas when the people inside them hate us?” http://www.niqash.org/articles/?id=3546 … (3)
#Kurdistan economy: more bankruptcies, less trade, stalled projects and despairing businessmen committing suicide http://www.niqash.org/articles/?id=3544 … ??
Isis Flag Raised by Syrian Refugees at Arsal Camp in Lebanon http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/isis-flag-raised-by-syrian-refugees-arsal-camp-lebanon-1467209 … via @IBTimesUK #ISIS
MoD spox: With coalition jets in the air, terrorists are forced to be more cautious: keeping their forces dispersed & movement inhibited #pt
British jets complete first combat mission over Iraq http://gu.com/p/42vnz/tw “no targets were identified as requiring immediate air attack”
Mark retweeted
Budget expert: #US war against #IslamicState costs 15-20 billion $/year
#Kurdistan — #ISIS militants have controlled the main road between #Shingal and #Rojava, according to preliminary... http://fb.me/1lJDsMqhC
Fighting between #YPG and #ISIS is 10-15 KM away from the city centre of #Kobane — Rudaw Correspondent. http://fb.me/6pOWVzdUg
#Kobane — Airstrikes targeting #ISIS militants in the outskirts of Kobane has forced them to withdraw from four... http://fb.me/3lo61Smgo
Hayder al-Khoei retweeted
A WB review in Iraq counted 8206 guards on the payroll at a particular ministry, but found that only 603 guards were actually working
Hayder al-Khoei retweeted
This WB study on Iraqi public expenditure reads as if it could have been written in 2003; same problems... http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2014/08/08/000333037_20140808092430/Rendered/PDF/899160PUB0978100Box385216B00PUBLIC0.pdf …
Charles Lister retweeted
.@Charles_Lister: comments by #US joint chiefs of staff have been deeply damaging for US relations w/moderate rebels http://bit.ly/Yx0e4D
Hayder al-Khoei retweeted
4 Bahraini ISIS members (inc. a former Interior Ministry employee) condemn #Bahrain role in #Syria strikes: pic.twitter.com/zeRznkca3I
Pro-Maliki factions attacking PM Abadi calling him traitor Blaming him for fall of Saqlawiya camp etc http://almadapaper.net/ar/news/472451
Iraqi economy coming to a halt during security crisis http://www.newsabah.com/wp/newspaper/20708 …
No comments:
Post a Comment