Al-Maliki: Besieging Kurdistan And al-Anbar - High-level Intelligence
12 January 2013
By Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed
High-level Intelligence
Anybody who believes the story about this "high-level
intelligence" is truly ignorant about the nature of
geopolitics. This story was made public by an
anonymous government source to justify the closure of
Iraq's border crossing with Jordan and the subsequent
impact this has had on the residents of al-Anbar.
Had the al-Maliki government enjoyed any credibility,
we would not have doubted its reasons for closing this
vital crossing into Jordan, particularly as terrorism
remains a painful reality that threatens Iraq as a
whole. However the al-Maliki government has taken the
decision to punish the people of al-Anbar, the
province that is boiling with anger against him and
leading the popular opposition movement in Iraq. Since
the livelihood of a large number of al-Anbar residents
is based on trade to and from Jordan, and because this
border crossing connects this region with the outside
world, its sudden closure – coinciding with the al-Anbar
uprising – is nothing more than a personal political
decision to besiege the province and collectively
punish its inhabitants in order to crush the
opposition through exclusion and economic blockade.
In the past, al-Maliki's government would send aid to
Bashar al-Assad, in addition to turning a blind eye to
the tremendous support being provided by others,
whilst vigilantly guarding the border region against
any smuggling operations that favoured the Syrian
rebels. However after the Abu Kamal border crossing
between Iraq and Syria was seized by the rebels last
June, the government of Baghdad changed its policy and
completely blocked any movement across the border with
Syria. Al-Anbar is the largest Iraqi province and it
shares a 500 km border with Syria; this clarifies the
problem represented by al-Anbar, as well as its
importance.
Al-Maliki has blocked the way, building a high wall
between Syria and Iraq, whilst his forces also
relentlessly pursue anybody who even thinks of
crossing. By closing this strategic passage, al-Maliki
has harmed the interests of this province and
impoverished the Iraqi people living there, not to
mention the Syrian on the other side. To draw a
contrast, Turkey has been allowing international aid
to reach the Syrians through its borders, as well as
allowing refugees and others to cross and leave Syria,
without changing its position depending on which party
– al-Assad or the rebels – is in control of the border
crossings. The al-Maliki government closed the border
crossings and marginalized this region, with the
exception of forces that are indeed pursuing the
Syrian refugees seeking to escape the crimes of the
al-Assad regime.
Al-Maliki pursued precisely the same approach with
Kurdistan, sending troops to Nasiriyah and Mosul last
summer under the pretext of guarding the borders with
Syria, when in reality he was seeking to open a
passageway to send aid to the al-Assad regime. The
Kurds refused to comply with this and he is now trying
to punish them just as he is the residents of al-Anbar.
Al-Maliki wants to prevent the Kurds from producing
their own oil, even announcing a security and military
state of alert and threatening to besiege the Kurdish
region. The relationship between al-Maliki and the
Kurdistan government has reached its lowest ebb
despite the fact that the Kurds were once among his
strongest supporters and it was only thanks to the
votes of Kurdish MPs that he was able to secure the
post of prime minister.
The tactic of exclusion and besiegement being
practiced by the Baghdad government is part of a
broader policy that aims to increase al-Maliki's
powers and eliminate his opponents, even though this
opposition is legitimate. This opposition is made up
of members of rival parties, as well as former al-Maliki
allies who have turned against the Iraqi prime
minister following disputes over interests and powers.
Al-Maliki is attempting to play a game that is beyond
his capabilities, kicking out the state's most senior
figures in order to take control of all three branches
of power. He wants to banish or imprison his rivals,
including senior politicians, and is today imposing an
economic blockade on the people of al-Anbar by closing
the border with Jordan as well as blocking movement
across the Syrian border crossing, which is no longer
under the al-Assad regime's control. He has completed
his grand war by declaring that Kurdistan is in
rebellion and threatening to sue the oil companies
operating in the region. He has placed his troops on a
state of high alert along the region's borders, whilst
the last time that Iraqi troops were stationed here
was at the command of Saddam Hussein in the late
1980s!
Al
Rashed is the general manager of Al -Arabiya
television. He is also the former editor-in-chief of
Asharq Al- Awsat, and the leading Arabic weekly
magazine, Al Majalla. He is also a senior Columnist in
the daily newspapers of Al Madina and Al Bilad. He is
a US post-graduate degree in mass communications. He
has been a guest on many TV current affairs programs.
He is currently based in Dubai.
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EsinIslam.Com
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