Lagniappe

 

 

Scott Sulivan :
Turkey and Russia must confront Iran over Iraq

 

Iraq's problems are not caused by the failures of the Maliki government, as
President Bush would have you believe. On the contrary, Iraq's problems are
caused by Iran and its imperial ambitions. President Bush attacks Maliki
and others because he is looking for scapegoats to blame for his own
failures of policy, especially his appeasement of Iran.

As an example, President Bush's surge strategy of increasing US forces in
Iraq by 20,000 US troops is part of his search for scapegoats, as well as
his effort to secure Iranian control over Iraq.

President Bush does not anticipate or intend that his surge strategy against
Sadr and his militia will help stabilize Iraq. To the contrary, even Bush's
cooperative CIA will tell him just the opposite.

President Bush knows the limits of his policy, as does his new pro-Iran
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Bush has three different goals in mind that have nothing to do with US or
Iraqi national security.

First, Bush wants to make a scapegoat of Sadr for all of Iraq's problems to
protect both himself and Iran, his true partner in Iraq. He then wants to
make the US military a scapegoat if it fails to apprehend Sadr. Bush will
ask the US military to capture Sadr as part of his surge plan.

Second, by driving Sadr out of Maliki's government, which is the political
component of Bush's surge plan, Bush wants to facilitate the Iran/Hakim
takeover of Iraq.

Third, Bush wants to rally his conservative political base behind this US
sellout of Iraq to Iran. Bush is actually appeasing Iran in the guise of US
confrontation with terrorism in Iraq.

In short, Bush's surge policy is political genius from the standpoint of US
domestic affairs, and a shameless act of betrayal of Iraq to Iran.

Above all, by weakening Sadr, President Bush wants to enhance the
connections in Iraq between the US and Iran's military and intelligence
services, under the auspices of SCIRI and the Badr Brigade. In effect, Iraq
is under joint military occupation by Iran and the US.

The true answer to Iraq's problems is simple. Forget James Baker's Iraq's
Study Group. Forget Frederick Kagan's surge strategy. These
recommendations will play directly into Iran's hands by making an enemy out
of Sadr, who is an Iraqi patriot, and by diverting attention from Iran's
occupation of Iraq.

The most direct route to freeing Iraq from the Iranian-US occupation is by
attacking Iran's plan to partition Iraq, beginning with Kurdistan, by
suppressing Iran's ally the Badr Brigade, and by supporting Iran's adversary
Muqtada al-Sadr.

For example, Turkey, Syria and Russia, backed by the Sunni Arab states, with
US encouragement, should offer to send forces to Kurdistan including Kirkuk,
as well as Anbar province. Turkey and its allies will thereby restrain
Kurdish separatism, now promoted by Iran. Tehran intends that an
independent Kurdistan will set a precedent for an independent Shiastan,
under Iran, as well as an independent Sunnistan, under Al-Qaeda. To prevent
this dismal scenario, Turkey and its Saudi allies will push Al-Qaeda's
forces from Anbar province.

Moreover, this same Turkish, Syrian and Russian coalition should offer to
occupy Basra to protect Basra from Hakim, the SCIRI and Iran, with UK
permission. The Turkish coalition shall then turn Basra over to Muqtada
al-Sadr's forces. Along these lines, this Turkish-led coalition shall
launch a program to equip and train Sadr's militia so that it is equivalent
to the Kurdish forces. Turkey must take this step because Iraq's military
cannot be trusted as it has been infiltrated by pro-Iran elements including
the Badr Brigade.

Finally, this Turkish coalition shall declare the Badr Brigade an illegal
organization throughout Iraq. Iran will be asked to withdraw all its
personnel from Iraq who lack the explicit authorization of the Iraqi
government.

In short, Iran's subversion and occupation of Iraq, including Iran's support
of Kurdish separatism, long encouraged by US policy, will be a thing of the
past. It is time for Turkey, Syria and Russia to take off the gloves.

Scott Sullivan is a former Washington government employee. Petroleumworld not necessarily share these views.

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Petroleumworld News 12/21/06

Copyright©2006 Scott Sullivan. All rights reserved

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