US worries about Iran-backed militias in Iraq

WASHINGTON – The Associated Press

AFP Photo

Iran is playing a helpful role against Islamic State og Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq now, but once the extremists are vanquished, Tehran-backed militias could undermine efforts to unify the country, the top U.S. military officer said on March 11.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey told lawmakers that any move to counter ISIL is a 'positive thing." But he said there are worries about whether those Shiite militias will later turn against Sunni or Kurdish Iraqis and hamper efforts to bridge ethnic and political divisions that have made peace elusive in Iraq.
     
"We are all concerned about what happens after the drums stop beating and ISIL is defeated, and whether the government of Iraq will remain on a path to provide an inclusive government for all of the various groups within it," Dempsey said, using an acronym for the militant group.
     
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said officials are watching to see whether the militias, after recapturing lost ground, "engage in acts of retribution and ethnic cleansing." At this point, "there no indication that that is a widespread event."
    
Dempsey joined Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ash Carter in testifying for more than three hours at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing called to examine President Barack Obama's proposal for new war powers to fight ISIL, which holds about one-third of Iraq and neighboring Syria.
     
The Republican committee chairman, Sen. Bob Corker,, lamented that Obama's proposal does not give the U.S. military clear authority to defend moderate forces training for the Syrian fight from the bombing risk by troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
     
Dempsey cited "active discussion" about the kind of support "we would supply once the new Syrian forces are fielded."
     
Carter later told reporters at the Pentagon that the U.S. will have "some obligation" to support the moderates as they take on ISIL and face possible attacks from Assad.
     
"We all understand that," Carter said. "And we're working through what kinds of support and under what conditions we would do so, to include the possibility that, even though they're trained and equipped to combat ISIL, they could come into contact with forces of the Assad regime."
     
Carter and Dempsey's comments opened the door to possible U.S. military action against Assad forces, if needed, to protect moderate rebels during a clash with regime troops. Obama has ruled out U.S. troops in ground combat in Syria.
     
On the issue of new powers to fight ISIL, the three witnesses defended the proposal that Obama submitted to Congress last month. The legislation, once finalized, would set up the first war vote in Congress in 13 years.
     
Carter said Obama's draft would allow U.S. military force against ISIL for three years. That would give the next president and Congress the chance to reauthorize it, if needed. He said there are no geographical restrictions included in the proposal because ISIL has shown signs of activity beyond Syria and Iraq.
     
Under Obama's proposal, the fight could extend to any "closely related successor entity" to ISIL. The administration has ruled out any "enduring" offensive combat operations.
     
Carter said the plan "does not authorize long-term, large-scale offensive ground combat operations like those we conducted in Iraq and Afghanistan, because our strategy does not call for them," Carter said. "Instead, local forces must provide the enduring presence needed for an enduring victory."
     
Republicans have expressed unhappiness that Obama chose to exclude the possibility of a long-term commitment of ground forces. Some Democrats voiced dismay that he had left the door open to any deployment at all.