In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Answer to Question
What lies behind the battle to retake Mosul!
Question:
The start of the battle to retake Mosul was announced on 17/10/2016. What is the intent behind it? How can we understand the previous statements by American officials who expected the Mosul war to take years? Will the "State Organization" end if it is expelled from Mosul? Why is there this exchange of accusations between the Iraqi government and the Turkish regime? And why the Turkish insistence on participating?
Answer:
Whoever contemplates current events sees them as a link in a series intended to complete the dismantling of Iraq by creating a region for the Sunnis and another for the Shias, after the Kurdish region has already become a visible reality. This policy was not started by America today, nor even since the occupation of Iraq, but rather before the occupation, since America imposed the no-fly zones over northern Iraq in 1991, whereby the Kurdistan region became a quasi-state! When America occupied Iraq in 2003, the system established by Bremer, the governor of occupied Iraq, was based on sectarian and denominational grounds with quotas for sects and denominations... In July 2003, Bremer formed what was called the Iraqi Governing Council, and in August 2003, he appointed a 25-member preparatory constitutional committee... The committee drafted a constitution project that makes Iraq a federal state based on regions like the Kurdistan region... Then general elections were held to vote on it on January 31, 2005, to grant legitimacy to the constitutional process as stipulated by the Transitional Administration Law. Despite the crooked methods used, including violence, only 58% of registered voters voted... Thus, this constitution was approved! Among the articles of this constitution:
Article (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Iraq for the year 2005 stipulates that "the Republic of Iraq is a federal state"... Article (116) stipulates that "the federal system in the Republic of Iraq consists of a capital, regions, decentralized governorates, and local administrations"... As for Article (117/First), it ruled that "this constitution, upon its entry into force, shall recognize the region of Kurdistan and its existing authorities as a federal region"... Anyone who looks into the powers of this region realizes the extent of the dismantling of Iraq in the near future! Especially since Article (119) stipulates "the possibility of creating other regions"... Thus, America sowed the seeds of dismantling Iraq through this ill-famed constitution, or rather, worse than ill-famed...
America felt the glow of success for passing the constitution to dismantle Iraq, and it tasked its agents with placing it at the top of their priorities to prepare the general atmosphere for it, but they did not succeed. The areas that came to be called Shia and Sunni areas had no separatist activity, even under the name of regions; even this naming of Shia and Sunni areas was non-existent and foreign to them... So, America began preparing the atmosphere in its own way. It turned to Maliki—a person saturated with hatred against Islam and Muslims—and installed him as Prime Minister on 20/05/2006. His basic task was to create enmity between the Sunnis and Shias in a way that made the repulsion between them strong! Its creation, Maliki, was sectarian par excellence; he provoked and agitated others, making the atmosphere ready for division and regionalization. He succeeded in this role; Maliki planted enmity with the Sunnis and Kurds until the division of Iraq became a demand for many people... Maliki succeeded in creating this enmity and preparing the atmosphere for regions and division, which was the main task for which America employed him as Prime Minister to implement. Therefore, it extended his rule for another term until September 8, 2014, and the days of his rule were black... By December 2011, when America exited with its military appearance but remained in its security and political reality, the tree of discord had ripened, and Maliki increased its evil fruit. He became tyrannical and oppressed with a unique kind of arrogance; whenever the discord died down, he reignited it with provocative actions and words... and the sectarian mobilization escalated with the establishment of armed Shia militias.
America found its goal in the person of Maliki to deepen the rift between Muslims. He deliberately provoked the Sunnis with all the hatred, cunning, injustice, and oppression he possessed... If the people demanded the lifting of injustice or their rights, he struck them down and rejected any right for them, as happened with the people of the Sunni areas when they moved peacefully in 2012. Their demands were ordinary, related to lifting injustice from them, releasing their prisoners—especially women—and avoiding random night raids... None of these included a demand to topple the regime, but Maliki's government rejected them and considered them demands serving terrorists. He began crushing the peaceful sit-ins so that the tension among the people of this region would increase and they would demand secession or the establishment of a federal region. Maliki and his government did not do this except by the instruction or approval of his American masters because he is directed by them. Alongside this, some Shia movements began demanding the establishment of a region for the Shias in the south, similar to the Kurdistan region, even before the outbreak of peaceful protests in Anbar... The matter did not stop there; neighboring countries raced to highlight the sectarian aspect... All of this was in implementation of American policy, which does not want Iraq as a unifying unity, but rather as discordant, clashing fragments, killing one another! Every side clings with their teeth to having its own region, and "the region" began to be called for openly...
In this atmosphere, there were movements by the "State Organization" to have a foothold in Mosul. America saw that its entry into this environment with Shia militias would deepen the rift more severely and harshly, thus serving the American goal of increasing the discord between Sunnis and Shias. It made Maliki withdraw the army from Mosul, leaving behind its weapons and bank funds, and so it was... In June 2014, the fall of Mosul to the "State Organization" was announced... Accounts frequently reported that the Iraqi army withdrew without fighting a real battle; rather, it surrendered its weapons, equipment, and uniforms, left the money in Mosul's banks, and the army's soldiers, officers, and security forces fled despite their superiority in numbers and equipment. Everyone began to doubt the matter and point to the existence of collusion and intent in surrendering the area for certain purposes. This opinion of collusion was so strong that Maliki admitted that what happened was a conspiracy ("What Mosul witnessed was a conspiracy," Maliki's Facebook page, the American Al-Hurra, 18/08/2015), but he tried to distance it from himself even though it was tied to him, as he was the Prime Minister, the commander of the army, and the primary official responsible for the battle! This was repeated in Ramadi by withdrawing the forces there—the so-called Golden Division—without resistance. Demands began to hold Maliki and those responsible accountable, but the matter was covered up and the curtain was drawn on it... It seems America saw fit to close the matter because its hand was deep in withdrawing the army, wanting to facilitate the presence of the organization on the grounds that it is Sunni, as its presence alongside the Shia militia increases the rift between Sunnis and Shias in preparation for regional federalism... Therefore, it ordered the withdrawal of the army to facilitate the organization's entry. Not only this, but America refused to bomb the organization when it entered Mosul; Obama stated on 13/06/2014 that Washington "will not participate in military action in the absence of a political plan provided by the Iraqis," despite the security agreement between America and Iraq, and despite the Iraqi government's request for it, as Iraqi Foreign Minister Zebari said in Jeddah on the evening of Wednesday 18/06/2014: "Baghdad requested Washington to direct airstrikes against the militants." This was confirmed by the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey, in a congressional session, meaning that America is in no hurry to intervene but delays it until the atmosphere is ready to implement the regions project by heating up the atmosphere between the Sunnis and the Shias, so both sides agree to a region for each, as is the case in Iraqi Kurdistan. After that, America orders the fighting against the organization and its expulsion from Mosul.
Aware politicians realize this and follow it. We remind here of the news reported by the website Iraq Today on 06/12/2015 from high-level diplomatic sources who leaked news directly to it regarding the American condition for ending the "State Organization" in the country: "The acceptance of establishing three main regions subject to federal rule in Baghdad is the basic condition for settling the ISIS file, purging Iraq of it, and ending all secondary authorities that replace the authority in Baghdad now, especially the militias led by Iranian orders." The same sources mentioned that: "...Washington pledged to undertake the protection of the new federal rule in Iraq with the support of the Security Council...".
Thus, America turned to Maliki with his sectarian fanaticism and employed him to provoke the Sunnis to create enmity between them and the Shias, and then tear Iraq apart with regions and a fragile link with the center that would soon break... Similarly, it exploited the organization's view of the Shias and facilitated its entry into Mosul to increase the rift between the two groups. It exploited the organization again when it announced the Khilafah after entering Mosul; America focused on its actions of killing, burning, and displacing civilians and tried to link these actions to the Khilafah. But Allah frustrated their actions, and people learned that Baghdadi's Khilafah is nothing but laghw (idle talk/nonsense) and that the Khilafah which Allah has mandated working for its establishment, and which the Messenger ﷺ brought glad tidings of its return, is truth and justice... people migrate to it for security and safety, and it spreads goodness not only among its inhabitants but carries it to the world.
As for the Turkish presence in northern Iraq, it is also for the same purpose, i.e., to give "breath" to the Sunnis in Iraq just as Iran gives "breath" to the Shias... Thus, the regional situation contributes to encouraging regionalization! Turkey's entry was to deepen this rift, so it appears as if it is protecting the Sunnis in return for Iran protecting the Shias... All of this is to achieve one goal, which is facilitating division.
As for Turkey's insistence on participating in this battle and the occurrence of debate and sparring between Erdogan and Abadi on the subject, and Erdogan's denunciation of the Iraqi government's demand for the withdrawal of Turkish forces from the Bashiqa camp (northeast of Mosul) even though it was with the knowledge of the Iraqi government... this matter is neither in the hands of the Iraqi government nor the Turkish government; rather, it is according to American policy so that Erdogan appears as if he is supporting the Sunnis in his debate with Abadi, and thus encourages the American project of "regions." Abadi does the same; he raises the issue of Turkish forces specifically, excluding other forces that fill Iraq's land and sky! This is to gain Shia sympathy... both matters are for the same purpose, i.e., to increase the tension between Sunnis and Shias to serve the American purpose of dismantling Iraq into regions... and the continuation of this sparring: whether it continues or stops is determined by the American project. This is not the first time the Iraqi government has demanded the withdrawal of Turkish forces; it demanded it at the end of last year, the Arab League met for it and supported it and raised the matter to the Security Council to take a resolution condemning Turkey and demanding its withdrawal, but it was a storm in a teacup and died down! Thus, the presence of Turkish forces is for this purpose, i.e., to implement the American "regions" project. This is no longer a secret; Erdogan declared it, demanding a region for Mosul following the example of the northern region. He blames those who agreed to the local government region in northern Iraq, i.e., the Kurdistan region, but did not similarly agree to the Mosul region... He said in his speech delivered at Beştepe regarding the status of Mosul: ("...Those who voted 'Yes' in the local government ballot in northern Iraq, did not say 'Yes' to the same thing in Mosul." Time Turk newspaper, 18/10/2016).
As for why this insistence on the Mosul war now, contrary to previous American statements, the matter is as follows:
America used to see that the time had not come for the war on the organization and its expulsion from Mosul, and Obama was in no hurry for this matter to end during his term; rather, some American officials were declaring that this matter would take years... but things happened that made Obama hasten it... Obama wanted to end his ill-fated term with success or something of a success to be remembered for him... He was relying on that in Syria with Iran's crowds and militias and by intensifying the Russian aerial bombardment, but it seems he lost hope or almost did because of this great steadfastness of the people of Syria, especially Aleppo. So, he turned his sight toward Iraq to Mosul, perhaps he would find hope there for a success or something of a success! He moved in haste to enter Mosul, to the point that he left pockets behind him, including Hawija... (The Wall Street Journal said that the Iraqi forces advancing toward Mosul bypassed some pockets controlled by the "State Organization," such as Hawija located in the middle of Kirkuk province, which allows the organization's fighters the possibility of launching counterattacks in other areas in Iraq. The newspaper explained in its report that the Iraqi commanders did not make retaking Hawija among their priorities despite it being located on the road connecting the capital Baghdad and Mosul, the country's second-largest city... and one of the leaders of the Shia militias in Kirkuk—Maitham al-Zaidi—described Hawija as a "knife in the side of northern Iraq," saying that the government hastened the retaking of Mosul before Hawija for political reasons and international pressure... Al Jazeera 28/10/2016).
Thus, the battle of Mosul was launched on 17/10/2016, where it was mentioned that 140,000 soldiers from the Iraqi army, Peshmerga forces, Tribal and National Mobilization forces, and others are participating. The official spokesperson for the US Department of Defense, Peter Cook, said: ("The international coalition led by Washington is fully supporting the Iraqi forces during the battle of Mosul," and he pointed to "the presence of US forces in the rear lines in the battle to retake Mosul with the aim of providing assistance and logistical support to the Iraqi army and Peshmerga forces..." Reuters 17/10/2016). America had announced in late September that it would increase the number of its forces in Iraq by adding about 600 soldiers to 4,400 others following the request of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. So, the battle is intended to continue during the US election campaign and beyond, until Obama ends his term by achieving victories recorded for him and the Democrats in American history. Although the battle of Mosul is not easy because of the bickering of internal forces among themselves, and because of the bickering of regional powers "Turkey and Iran" among themselves—where these bickerings make the Mosul fighting ebb and flow... but as long as the influential factor in these forces is the same factor ("America"), these bickerings are not expected to stop the battle for long, but rather according to what America's policy requires...
America gave a role to Europe, not an independent one, but as part of the coalition, especially France and Britain, so they are restricted by America's leadership of the coalition. This is so they do not remain distant and disturb America's goals from that war, which is the dismantling of Iraq into regions... As usual, France is trying to emerge in such events as a reaction to what hit it from the organization in France, so it held a conference in Paris on 20/10/2016 to discuss the "political future of the city of Mosul," and invited foreign ministers and representatives of twenty countries and organizations for the protection of civilians. It called for another conference for defense ministers in the international coalition against the "State Organization" on 25/10/2016. Following this meeting, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said, as his country is the leader of the coalition: (The discussions focused on how to end the "State Organization's" control over Raqqa... and that it has been determined what the coalition can do to accelerate the implementation of the plan and how to protect the territories of member states from the organization's attacks... Al Jazeera 26/10/2016). This points to America's leadership of these countries as it speaks about protecting the territories of member states from the organization's attacks.
As for whether the organization will end if Mosul falls from its hand? It does not seem so. Rather, the organization will resort to hit-and-run warfare and attacks here and there, and continue its activities from outside the cities. It was expelled from the center of Ramadi but remained around it. Likewise, if it is expelled from Mosul, it will remain hovering around it to return as it was before 2014, and as it is now practically: an armed organization fighting in the deserts and mountains and on the outskirts of cities and villages... and due to its lack of political awareness, it may perform actions it sees in its interest, which are then exploited for the interests of the colonialist Kafir states; perhaps it will realize this...
As for America, it is not likely to abandon its plan to divide Iraq into three federations; rather, this has become the state's policy regarding Iraq. Congress approved in 2006 the project related to dividing Iraq into three federal regions: Kurdish, Sunni, and Shia, but the decision was not binding on the President. However, President Bush announced then that "the circumstances are not favorable for implementing the decision." The draft resolution was submitted by Senator Joseph Biden, who became Vice President to Obama in 2009. Biden was active in working toward implementing the resolution without officially announcing it, and Obama handed him the Iraq file... Furthermore, America drafted the Iraqi constitution on this basis. So, its actions now and in the future are directed toward applying that. Following the retaking of Mosul, the search for the political formula for managing these areas—so-called Sunni areas—will follow, which is the most difficult link because the Shia areas are less difficult... Nevertheless, it is not easy for this project to pass, for in Iraq there are men sincere to Allah the Almighty, truthful with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they will not accept that their country be torn apart, and they will stand in the face of those projects to frustrate them by the permission of Allah, the All-Strong, the Almighty.
In conclusion, O people of Iraq, O people of Mesopotamia, we address you as we addressed you before: Islam gathered you for centuries, and its banner shaded you for a long period of time, so you were strong and honorable, sharing goodness together, and fighting evil together... Your country is the land of heroisms, the land of Qadisiyyah, the land of al-Buwayb, the land of Harun al-Rashid and al-Mu'tasim, the land of Saladin, the land of the previous and future conquerors, Allah willing. A single Iraq is strong with its people, and a fragmented Iraq is weak in its pieces... If the Kurds think that the existence of a Kurdistan region or a Kurdistan state will provide them with honor, it will not exceed the short term but will be a death trap for them after a while... If the Sunnis think that the existence of a region for them in northern and western Iraq will provide them with a pleasant life, it will not exceed a period of no significance, and then there will be misery and hardship upon them afterward... If the Shias think that the existence of a region for them in the south will provide them with power containing might, it will only be for a short time, and then matters will return to weakness and humiliation.
O people of Mesopotamia: Reject sectarianism and asabiyyah (fanaticism/tribalism).
دَعُوهَا فَإِنَّهَا مُنْتِنَةٌ "Leave it, for it is putrid." (Narrated by Bukhari from Jabir)
Leave the sectarian and denominational labels, and hold fast to the name with which Allah named us:
هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ "He named you Muslims." (QS. Al-Hajj [22]: 78)
So return to it and hold fast to it, you will be honored, otherwise, humiliation will strike you from everywhere.
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ "Indeed in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or who listens while he is present [in mind]." (QS. Qaf [50]: 37)
29th of Muharram al-Haram 1438 AH Corresponding to 30/10/2016 CE