US Secretary of State Arrives in Iraq for Talks on Islamic State Group
BAGHDAD — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived here on Wednesday for top-level talks to forge a coalition against the Sunni militants who have seized control of much of northern and western Iraq and to show support for Iraq’s new government.
The Obama administration has made the formation of an inclusive Iraqi government a precondition for expanded security assistance to Baghdad in its fight against the Islamic State group.
Kerry met with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, the Shiite politician who has taken over from Nouri al-Maliki. Kerry also plans to consult with Fuad Masum, the Kurd who serves as Iraq’s new president, and Salim al-Jubouri, a Sunni and the speaker of parliament.
Even though two crucial and potentially divisive posts remained unfilled — those of the defense and interior ministers — Kerry has described the progress made in forming a power-sharing government as a “major milestone’’ and administration officials believe it is a sufficient basis to hold detailed talks on a joint strategy against the Islamic State group.
Iraq will have a “critical role’’ in the effort to “degrade and ultimately eventually defeat’’ the Islamic State group, a senior State Department official told reporters traveling with Kerry, “and that will be the main focus on his talks.’’
Kerry met with al-Abadi in the same vast and ornate place that the United States used as its headquarters during its occupation of Iraq. It now serves as an office for the Iraqi prime minister
A major purpose of Kerry’s visit is to press Iraqi leaders to continue their efforts to establish an inclusive government in which the Shia majority will share power with the Sunnis and Kurds — a step that the Obama administration has insisted is a precondition for expanded security cooperation in fighting the Islamic State group.
Al-Abadi was well aware of the political requirement and sought in brief remarks when the news media was briefly let into the meeting to demonstrate that the Iraqis were making headway on a power-sharing arrangement.
“Everybody is on board,’’ he said, speaking in fluent English as he appealed for international support in taking on the militants.
“They are a challenge to the whole region,’’ he said. “What is happening in Syria is coming across to Iraq.’’
In a gesture of support, Kerry asserted that progress was being made on forming an inclusive government and in resolving longstanding disputes with the Kurds on oil export arrangements, but offered no details.
“We are very encouraged,’’ Kerry said
Kerry also said he planned give the Iraqis a preview of the address President Barack Obama plans to give Wednesday night on how to the United States could help Iraq fight the Islamic State group.
Iraq is still riven with sectarian divisions, which the Islamic State group has exploited by playing on the Sunni resentments against al-Maliki, many of whom continue to harbor suspicions of al-Abadi’s efforts.
One major initiative to roll back the Islamic State gains in Iraq, U.S. officials said, is the establishment of national guard units that would be recruited locally and given the main security responsibilities in their home areas.
In an echo of the Sunni Awakening, in which Iraqi tribes made common cause with U.S. forces to fight al-Qaida in Iraq, some of the national guard units would be drawn from local tribes. But unlike the Awakening, the soldiers would formally be part of Iraq’s security structure and would be trained on Iraqi military bases. Reporting to local governors, they would also receive salaries and pensions from the government.
The plan is intended to rebuild the fighting capability that the Iraqi government lost after much of its army faded away in the face of the Islamic State onslaught.
The decentralization of security responsibilities is also intended to ease sectarian tensions by giving Sunnis more control over their own affairs and reducing the need for the largely Shiite army to be deployed on their territory. And it would replace the ad hoc arrangements for paying Awakening members that eventually led to its demise.
“The people of Anbar will take on ISIL,’’ the State Department official added, using an alternative name for the Islamic State group. “The people of Nineveh will take on ISIL in Nineveh, and they will have assistance from the national army when they need it.’’
“One thing Abadi has said repeatedly,’’ the official added, is that he is not going to use “military units from the south and go into areas in the north and west’’ to fight the Islamic State group.
But the plan still requires assistance from the United States or other nations in training and advising the Iraqi military that would back up the local forces. And it requires a major effort to enlist Sunnis in the new national guard units, persuade them to pledge loyalty to the Iraqi government and equip and train them so they would be a credible fighting force.
“So the core principle in Iraq of what comes after ISIL is now pretty well laid out,’’ said the State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under the State Department’s protocol for briefing reporters. “It’s going to be a very difficult, long road to get there.’’
Iraq is just the first stop for Kerry on his travels in the Middle East to try to line up support against the Islamic State group.
Kerry will also be meeting with King Abdullah II in Amman, Jordan. And he will travel to Jidda, Saudi Arabia, where Saudi and other Arab officials are gathering to discuss how to respond to the threat posed by the Islamic State group.
Saudi Arabia and other gulf states also have influence with Iraq’s Sunnis, and U.S. officials hope they will encourage them to line up against the Islamic State group and cooperate with the new Iraqi government, including the new decentralized security structure that is envisaged and the national guard units.
After leaving the Middle East, Kerry will fly to Paris to attend an international conference on Iraq’s future and the threat posed by the Islamic State group, Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said Wednesday.
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