U.S. can battle al Qaeda in Iraq without armies: Kerry
JERUSALEM - The United States will support the Iraqi
government and tribes battling al Qaeda-linked Sunni Muslim militants in
Anbar province but will not send U.S. armies back to Iraq, U.S.
receptionist of State John Kerry said on Sunday.
Islamist militants connected to al Qaeda and tribal fighters have taken command of Ramadi and Falluja, the major towns in the Sunni Muslim-dominated province of Anbar, which adjoins Syria, in a serious dispute to the Shi'ite-led government's administration.
Iraqi armies and allied tribesmen are trying to retake the province.
Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Kerry said the joined States was concerned about events in Anbar, which was the heart of the anti-U.S. rebellion after the joined States' invasion of Iraq in 2003.
While pledging to help Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government, he made clear there was no question of U.S. armies coming back to Iraq. The United States removed its troops from Iraq in 2011 after failing to come to agreement with Maliki's government on a continuing occurrence.
"This is a battle that pertains to the Iraqis," he said. "We're not considering putting boots on the ground. This is their battle, but we're going to help them in their fight."
Kerry turned down to supply details on what the joined States might do to aid Maliki, who Washington has repeatedly advised to share power with the Sunni minority - in part to prevent a improved Sunni insurgency against the central government.
Al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been steadily squeezing its grab in the wasteland province in recent months in a tender to create a Sunni Muslim state spanning the Syrian opportunity.
This week's seizure of territory in Ramadi and Falluja was the first time in years that Sunni insurgents had taken productive control of the region's most significant towns and held their places for days.
Kerry said the violence had local significances.
"This is a fight that is larger than just Iraq ... The battling in Syria is part of what is unleashing this instability in the rest of the region," he supplemented.
"We can't desire peace and we can't desire democracy and we can't desire an orderly government and steadiness more than the persons in a specific area, in a specific homeland or a specific region," he said. "This battle, in the end, they will have to win, and I am assured they can."
The Iraqi military's collaboration with tribesmen against al Qaeda echoes a decision by localized tribes in 2006 to work with U.S. armies to battle al Qaeda forces who had taken command of most of Iraq's Sunni areas after the U.S. attack.
U.S. armies and local tribes finally beat back al Qaeda in hefty fighting after a "surge" of U.S. forces in 2006-07.
Islamist militants connected to al Qaeda and tribal fighters have taken command of Ramadi and Falluja, the major towns in the Sunni Muslim-dominated province of Anbar, which adjoins Syria, in a serious dispute to the Shi'ite-led government's administration.
Iraqi armies and allied tribesmen are trying to retake the province.
Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Kerry said the joined States was concerned about events in Anbar, which was the heart of the anti-U.S. rebellion after the joined States' invasion of Iraq in 2003.
While pledging to help Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government, he made clear there was no question of U.S. armies coming back to Iraq. The United States removed its troops from Iraq in 2011 after failing to come to agreement with Maliki's government on a continuing occurrence.
"This is a battle that pertains to the Iraqis," he said. "We're not considering putting boots on the ground. This is their battle, but we're going to help them in their fight."
Kerry turned down to supply details on what the joined States might do to aid Maliki, who Washington has repeatedly advised to share power with the Sunni minority - in part to prevent a improved Sunni insurgency against the central government.
Al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has been steadily squeezing its grab in the wasteland province in recent months in a tender to create a Sunni Muslim state spanning the Syrian opportunity.
This week's seizure of territory in Ramadi and Falluja was the first time in years that Sunni insurgents had taken productive control of the region's most significant towns and held their places for days.
Kerry said the violence had local significances.
"This is a fight that is larger than just Iraq ... The battling in Syria is part of what is unleashing this instability in the rest of the region," he supplemented.
"We can't desire peace and we can't desire democracy and we can't desire an orderly government and steadiness more than the persons in a specific area, in a specific homeland or a specific region," he said. "This battle, in the end, they will have to win, and I am assured they can."
The Iraqi military's collaboration with tribesmen against al Qaeda echoes a decision by localized tribes in 2006 to work with U.S. armies to battle al Qaeda forces who had taken command of most of Iraq's Sunni areas after the U.S. attack.
U.S. armies and local tribes finally beat back al Qaeda in hefty fighting after a "surge" of U.S. forces in 2006-07.
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