Besides being completely illegal, working with Iran’s paramilitary
arm is not strategically sound. Qods commits unspeakable atrocities,
kills women and children, and has been implicated in backing sectarian
death squads in Syria, Lebanon, and even Afghanistan. IRGC-QF, as it’s
known in military and intelligence circles,
is
also singularly responsible for using the deadliest explosives and even
assassinations against the U.S. military and American diplomats.
The military gains of both Iran’s proxies and ISIL should be blunted
to curb the sectarian bloodshed outside Irbil sure to follow. The
international coalition Secretary Kerry and President Obama cobbled
together, acting in concert with the United States, should take more
aggressive actions to prevent advances by Shi’a militia.
The primary objective in Iraq should be to secure Irbil, pull back
all American diplomatic and military presence to behind Iraqi
Kurdistan’s borders, and pit ISIL and Iran against each other. Iran’s
Shi’a militia proxies effectively control Baghdad and exercise
significant control on Iraqi military operations. They should be allowed
to fight ISIL to the last man.
Some proponents of working with Iran invoke the plight of the Kurdish
and Yazidi people in Northern Iraq. Ironically enough, Iran has also
already begun subversive efforts to destabilize Kurdistan. University of
Maryland researcher
Phillip
Smyth, who follows Shi’a Islamist movements, has tracked Iranian
activities in Iraq for years and recently stated Iran views the current
crisis as “their moment” in Iraq.
It was curious, then, when commentators floated the idea the US had “only one potential strategic partner left: Iran.”
Iran
is not a viable partner, and has repeatedly expressed its desire to
carve a so-called ‘Shia crescent’ out of the existing Middle East. The
world can no longer allow the Iraqi military and police to function as
an extension of Iran’s military, especially while the outcome of nuclear
negotiations with Tehran remain tenuous.
Failure to arrest Iran’s momentum in Iraq could lead to Iran having not one but three large standing armies and nuclear weapons.
To counter the tactical advantage held by ISIL and the Shi’a
militias, the Kurdish peshmerga, already an effective fighting force,
should be armed and trained by the Joint Special Operations Command. The
enemy’s usage of urban fortification and human shields ensures
airstrikes will result in civilian casualties and efforts to locate ISIL
fighters requires human sources as well as aircraft provided to Sunni
and Kurdish groups by NATO.
Adversarial networks are slippery by nature, but Iran’s global
network of proxies are especially adept at strategic deception and
regularly outfox our Central Intelligence Agency. Iran’s intelligence
services famously lured the CIAs entire network of informants to a Pizza
Hut in Lebanon, where they were promptly shipped off for a talk over
chai. Their fate is, well, still unknown.
Syrian, Iranian, and Iraqi Kurds are needed to collect vital
intelligence against Iranian special groups in Iraq and Syria and combat
Iranian influence. Prominent Kurdish citizens have already begun to
publicly rebuff Iran’s advances. Additionally, the coalition should
commit to maintaining a presence in Iraq through the provincial
elections in 2017.
The United States should abandon efforts to unify a national
government. Iran cannot be considered a credible–or desirable–partner in
Iraq, and they control Baghdad. That makes Baghdad, strategically, an
adversary.
Iraq is plagued by long-term problems, and the military action taken
recently is just the first step in a long slog that will last years, if
not decades. Failure by NATO and the United States to support sensible
policies will ensure the dissipation of influence in the region.
Our friends need us more than ever. Let’s hold Iran and its terrorist organizations accountable.
