Turkey's ‘Sunnistan’ in Iraq. Sultan Erdogan's calculated move into the ultimate ‘Pipelineistan’ war.

Crippled in Syria, Turkey goes for a ‘Sunnistan’ in Iraq

 

Published time: 9 Dec, 2015 13:01

 

© Fatih Saribas / Reuters

 

Turkey’s “incursion” into Iraq is a cold, calculated move. And once again, the name of the game is – what else? – Divide and Rule.

 

TrendsSyria unrest, Syria-Turkey

 

 

Turkey sent to Iraqi Kurdistan – which is part of the state of Iraq - no less than a 400-strong battalion supported by 25 M-60A3 tanks. Now the Turkish boots on the ground at Bashiqa camp, northeast of Mosul, have reportedly reached a total of around 600.

The short breakdown: this is not a “training camp”- as Ankara is spinning. It’s a full-blown, perhaps permanent, military base.

The dodgy deal was struck between the ultra-corrupt Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and then-Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu in Erbil last month.

Torrents of Turkish spin swear this is only about “training” Peshmergas to fight ISIS/ISIL/Daesh.
Absolute nonsense. The crucial fact is that Ankara is terrified of the “4+1” alliance fighting Islamic State, which unites Iran, Iraqi Shiites and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), as well as Hezbollah, with Russia.

In Syria, Ankara is virtually paralyzed, after the “stab in the back”downing of the Su-24; the Russian revelations of complicity between Turkey’s first family and stolen Syrian oil (Bilal Erdogan, a.k.a. Erdogan ‘Mini Me’, denies everything); and the Russian Air Force relentless pounding of Turkey’s fifth column Turkmen. Not to mention the deployment of S-400s and even a third-generation submarine complete with Kalibr cruise missiles.

So Ankara now switches the attention to Iraq with a “counter-alliance”, made up of Turkey; the KRG (which – illegally – sells oil to Turkey); and Sunnis in northern Iraq under the supposed leadership of the sprawling Nuceyfi tribe in Mosul.

© Stringer / Reuters

This is textbook neo-Ottomanism in action. We should never forget that for the AKP in power in Ankara, northern Syria and northern Iraq are nothing but former Ottoman Empire provinces, an eastward extension of Turkey’s Hatay province. ‘Sultan’ Erdogan’s (unstated) wet dream is to annex the whole lot.

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Pepe Escobar is an independent geopolitical analyst. He writes for RT, Sputnik and TomDispatch, and is a frequent contributor to websites and radio and TV shows ranging from the US to East Asia. He is the former roving correspondent for Asia Times Online. Born in Brazil, he's been a foreign correspondent since 1985, and has lived in London, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Washington, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Even before 9/11 he specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central and East Asia, with an emphasis on Big Power geopolitics and energy wars. He is the author of "Globalistan" (2007), "Red Zone Blues" (2007), "Obama does Globalistan" (2009) and "Empire of Chaos" (2014), all published by Nimble Books. His latest book is "2030", also by Nimble Books, out in December 2015.

Environment Pollution - Iraq, Province of Missan, [Karima village area] : discovery of dangerous radioactive contamination that is attributed to the 2003 US-led war on Iraq.

Earth Watch Report  -  Environmental Pollution

• nuclear-news

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Environment Pollution

Iraq

Province of Missan, [Karima village area]

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RSOE EDIS

Environment Pollution in Iraq on Tuesday, 13 May, 2014 at 03:07 (03:07 AM) UTC.

Description The official environmental authority in the Iraqi governorate of Missan, which is located 390 kilometres away from Baghdad, has announced the discovery of dangerous radioactive contamination that is attributed to the 2003 US-led war on Iraq. The director of the general authority for the environment in Missan, Samir Kadim, told the New Arab news website that the authority's specialised staff found radioactive material, mainly in military equipment and the skeletons of cars, in a small village south of Missan known as Karima. Kadim explained that the ministry's authority is cautiously entering the three areas where radioactive material was discovered and is taking strict procedures to remove it. The village witnessed one of the fiercest battles between the former Iraqi army and the US-led coalition forces in 2003. "Unfortunately, we have discovered it late, after a number of the village's residents have been diagnosed with various diseases," Kadim said.One of the village's residents told the New Arab in a phone interview that: "Cancer has spread among us, in addition to birth defects among new-born babies and other diseases that doctors cannot explain." "But it is only now that we have discovered the cause �" it is the US," said 45-year-old Abboud Moussa. Moussa described how a number of Karima's villagers, including children and his own mother, died as a result of this radioactive material. Doctors diagnosed his mother with skin cancer and bone disease, and they told him that she needed to receive medical treatment abroad, but she died very fast before she could travel. The village's mayor Mahmoud Abtan told the New Arab that a routine visit to the village by officials from the Ministry of Environment encouraged the villagers to ask them to examine a number of areas that had a bad smell. "A number of animals grazing near those areas have died ... people even thought that those areas were possessed. Then it turned out that they are not possessed at all, and our murderer is the US," he said.According to Missan's environment authority, Karima is the third place in the governorate where radioactive material has been discovered amid primitive treatment and an American refusal to take responsibility. Any US assistance in handling the radiation would be an acknowledgement of its use of internationally banned weapons in Iraq. Abdel Khalek Mahmoud, an environmental expert, told the New Arab that "radioactive contamination in Iraq is divided into two types: The first, which is rarely found in Iraq, is high-level radioactivity that can be discovered by electronic devices. The second is low-level radioactivity, which is more difficult to discover. It was caused by the waste of depleted uranium that was used by the US in its 2003 war on Iraq. This is abundantly found and it has caused a lot of lethal damage in the country." "We have often said that the reason why thousands of Iraqi soldiers went missing is that their bodies burnt as a result of uranium-saturated bombs. But the country's new leaders, who were empowered by the US, were not willing to bother the Americans," Mahmoud added.

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US allegedly poisoned Iraqi village with lethal radioactive material - local official

© Photo: Voice of Russia/Michael Shepetkov


The official environmental authority in the Iraqi governorate of Missan, located 390 kilometers away from Baghdad, has discovered radioactive material attributed to the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, Global Research reports. The director of the general authority for the environment, Samir Kadim, explained that dangerous contamination was found in military equipment left at a small village south of Karima that saw severe fighting between the Iraqi army and the US-led coalition forces in 2003.

Kadim laments that the contamination was not discovered soon after the military operation ended. Since then several people have been diagnosed with various serious diseases, from cancer to birth defects. "Unfortunately, we have discovered it late, after a number of the village’s residents have been diagnosed with various diseases."

Many need professional medical help only available abroad. Some succumbed to the disease without receiving any treatment.

Abboud Moussa told the New Arab: "Cancer has spread among us, in addition to birth defects among new-born babies and other diseases that doctors cannot explain."

"But it is only now that we have discovered the cause – it is the US."

Reportedly, this is the third case that radioactive material has been discovered in that area.

The village's mayor Mahmoud Abtan told the New Arab that a routine visit to the village by officials from the Ministry of Environment encouraged the villagers to ask them to examine a number of areas that had a bad smell. "A number of animals grazing near those areas have died … people even thought that those areas were possessed. Then it turned out that they are not possessed at all, and our murderer is the US," he said, as quoted by the Global Research.

Abdel Khalek Mahmoud, an environmental expert, told the New Arab that allegedly depleted uranium was used in Iraq by the US in 2003. "This is abundantly found and it has caused a lot of lethal damage in the country."

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 nuclear-news

USA, UK, France will not admit the growing radioactive pollution of Iraq, due to depleted uranium weapons

The health effects are disputed by the US and UK governments, who joined with France and Israel to vote against a resolution calling for “a precautionary approach” to the use of DU weapons at the United Nations general assembly in December; 155 countries voted in favour of the resolution.


Iraq’s depleted uranium clean-up to cost $30m as contamination spreads Rob Edwards guardian.co.uk,  6 March 2013 Report says toxic waste is being spread by scrap metal dealers, and describes its ‘alarming’ use in civilian areas during Iraq wars Cleaning up more than 300 sites in Iraq still contaminated by depleted uranium (DU) weapons will cost at least $30m, according to a report by a Dutch peace group to be published on Thursday.
The report, which was funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, warns that the contamination is being spread by poorly regulated scrap metal dealers, including children. It also documents evidence that DU munitions were fired at light vehicles, buildings and other civilian infrastructure including the Iraqi Ministry of Planning in Baghdad – casting doubt on official assurances that only armoured vehicles were targeted. “The use of DU in populated areas is alarming,” it says, adding that many more contaminated sites are likely to be discovered.
More than 400 tonnes of DU ammunition are estimated to have been fired by jets and tanks in the two Iraq wars in 1991 and 2003, the vast majority by US forces. The UK government says that British forces fired less than three tonnes.
DU is a chemically toxic and radioactive heavy metal produced as wasteby the nuclear power industry. It is used in weapons because it is an extremely hard material capable of piercing armour.

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Iraqi PM Urges Expulsion of Al-Qaida in Fallujah

VOA

FILE - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki speaks to the press in Baghdad, Iraq.

Edward Yeranian

January 06, 2014

CAIRO — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is calling on residents of the mostly Sunni-populated Anbar Province town of Fallujah to expel pro- al-Qaida militants who appear to control their city.  Witnesses say Iraqi government forces outside the city are bombarding areas inside, while warning an offensive could start soon.

In a statement read on state television, Maliki urged Iraqis to “help the government and army to fight terrorists.”  He went on to urge residents to “expel” the Islamic militants who control the city.

Click to enlarge

A resident of Fallujah indicated he fled because foodstuffs and basic necessities were running short.  Scores of residents have been leaving the city as conditions deteriorate.  Some reports say Islamic militants are now blocking exits from Fallujah.

Falah al Aissawi, a member of the Anbar provincial council, told al-Arabiya TV that “no Iraqi police or army troops remain inside [Fallujah].”  Witnesses reported that Iraqi helicopters and field artillery were bombing positions in at least two areas of the city.
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Al-Qaida Takes Control of Iraqi City

VOA News

January 04, 2014

FILE: Protesters throw stones at Iraqi security forces during an anti-government demonstration in Falluja, Iraq, January 25, 2013.

Reports Saturday say the Iraqi government has lost control of Fallujah to al-Qaida militants after days of fighting.
A senior security official told the French news agency that Fallujah is under the control of ISIS - a reference to the al-Qaida-linked group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Witnesses says there are no signs of government forces inside the Anbar province city, which is only 60 kilometers west of Baghdad.
On Friday, al-Qaida militants raised their flag over government buildings in Fallujah and declared an independent Islamic state.
Witnesses said the militants cut power lines in the city late Friday and ordered residents not to use backup generators.
A local journalist who asked for anonymity out of fear of retribution told The Washington Post that police and other government-aligned forces had abandoned the city and that al-Qaida had burned all Iraqi national flags.
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Iraq attack on Shiite religious hall kills 15

by Staff Writers

Baghdad (AFP) July 05, 2013

92-year-old Iraqi weds woman seven decades juniorSamarra, Iraq (AFP) July 05, 2013 - A 92-year-old Iraqi farmer married a woman 70 years his junior in a village north of Baghdad, he said Friday, voicing happiness at getting hitched alongside two teenage grandchildren who also tied the knot. Musali Mohammed al-Mujamaie married 22-year-old Muna Mukhlif al-Juburi on Thursday evening, three years after the death of his first wife of 58 years, with whom he raised 16 children in his home village of Gubban, which lies just south of the central Iraqi city of Samarra. "I am so happy to get married with my grandsons," Mujamaie told AFP after the ceremony. "I feel like a 20-year-old!" Mujamaie said the marriage of his two grandsons, aged 16 and 17, was repeatedly delayed while his own wedding was being arranged, so that the three could tie the knot on the same day. The wedding carried on for four hours, with musical and dance performances and celebratory gunfire, and was attended by local tribal and religious leaders.

A bombing against a Shiite hall in Baghdad killed 15 people Friday, among several attacks to strike Iraq with unrest at its worst since 2008 amid fears of a revival of all-out conflict.
Nationwide violence left 23 dead and dozens more wounded as bombings struck town squares and a husseiniyah, or Shiite religious hall, as the country grapples with a political deadlock and months-long protests by its Sunni Arab minority.
Analysts and diplomats worry that the standoff, which is often linked to levels of violence, is unlikely to be resolved at least until general elections due next year.
No group has claimed responsibility for the wave of attacks in Iraq in recent months, but Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda frequently target the country's Shiite majority, whom they regard as apostates.
Friday's deadliest attack struck the Husseiniyah Ali Basha in the Graiat area of north Baghdad, with a car bomb exploding near the Shiite religious hall at around 8:00 pm (1700 GMT).
At least 15 people were killed and 32 others were wounded, a police colonel and a medical source said.
The area, which runs adjacent to the Tigris river, is frequented by Baghdad residents, particularly on Thursday and Friday evenings, who visit its multitude of restaurants serving Iraq's most famous delicacy -- masgoof, or flame-grilled carp.

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