Pentagon officials, who declined to be named, are expressing serious concerns about the lack of US involvement in the upcoming Tikrit offensive, saying Iraq never even asked them to take part.
It’s not an oversight, but rather a reflection of how important Iran is as an ally to Iraq, and with Iranian artillery and other military assets being thrown behind this attack, the Iraqi apparently felt the US wasn’t necessary.
What this boils down to is the long-standing concern that Iran is actually overtaking the US as Iraq’s go-to ally, an understandable position for the Shi’ite Iraqi government, as the US refuses to cooperate with either Iran or Syria, two major combatant forces
fighting against ISIS in what amounts to the same war.
The US has struggled with this risk of losing Iraq for years, since Iran is a much more natural ally for them. That they both have compatible interests in this war seems to be irrelevant to the Pentagon, which sees the battle for Iraq support as a zero sum game, and Iran consequently as the “enemy.”
How dare Iraqis become allies with their kind instead of with zionist Americans! Shocking…
I was just surprised its taken so long. The next step will be for the Iraqis to "ask" the US to leave the country and then the failure of the US invasion and American Exceptionalism will be complete.
The US influence (control) of Iraq was never going to happen and those who believed otherwise were obviously smoking crack.
Order some more crack; the list is long; Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, et.al.; and Obama, Kerry, Biden, Killiary etc.
No Empire expansion = no empire
For over a decade we occupied Iraq with but one goal, to make their government so irreversibly corrupt that they would never again nationalize their oil industry. For next would come an end to the US dollar as the currency of exchange and the death of our Empire, for hegemony over the Middle-East is the all-in-all of our Empire.
Comes now our military to act as if it wants the Islamic State to destroy the Iraq government, which makes one wonder if the rise and fall of Empire USA has not already taken place?
Iran cannot have relations with its neighbour, if the terrorists, Pentagon, do not allow it. Such a f*ck!!
Really?Were their head stuck in the sand since the first US war against Iraq in 1990s.They destroyed Iraq.
In 2003 Iran, the Barzani faction of Kurds, Israel and the US had the same goals in Iraq; to overthrow the government and to insure that the governing consensus between Arab Shi-I and Sunni could not be re-established. Although it involved vast corruption, bloodshed and brutality, they have managed to achieve those goals. Now they are forced to deal with the blowback caused by the sectarian cleansing of Baghdad and the sectarianizing of Iraqi politics and society.
The key to undoing the damage done to Iraq lies with the ability of Syria to defeat and roll back the sectarian forces that are trying to destroy it, but Syria's is another government and society that depends on a non-sectarian consensus for survival – another Arab consensus that the US, Turkey, Israel and most of the Gulf monarchies would like to destroy. So far, Iran has been loyal to the alliance with Syria that dates from Saddam's wiping-out of the pro-Syrian leadership of Iraq's Ba'th Party when he seized power in July 1979, but perhaps Iran does not want the momentum from the rollback of sectarianism in Syria to reach Iraq.
When ideology and political convenience at home get in the way of crucial military operation, or when a third party actually calls the shots, you cannot expect circumstances to flow your way. Iran is next door to Iraq, America is halfway round the planet. You do not need a degree in political science or military strategy to understand the preference. Rather than acting shocked or scandalized, a healthy dose of realpolitik would show that while the US may loom large it is also seen as a hectoring bully whose alliance is worthy as far as weapons supply is needed but which needlessly meddles in the internal affairs of its Arab ´allies´. Wake up America, you want stuff done, you must get your own hands dirty and forgo both pandering to third parties and hectoring your allies into doing things ´your way´. What plays in Peoria does not necessarily play well in Baghdad. (Check the reception the movie American Sniper got)