US Secretary of State John Kerry warns of Iraq destabilization by extremists

US Secretary of State John Kerry warns of Iraq destabilization by extremists

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari (L) shake hands at the Diplomatic and Political Joint Coordinating Committee meeting at the State Department in Washington Aug. 15. REUTERS photo

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Aug. 15 that Iraq risked destabilization from [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and Shiite extremists as civil war flares in neighboring Syria.

Meeting Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Kerry said that Iraq faced "increasingly turbulent, violent and unpredictable" regional currents.

"Sunni and Shia extremists on both sides of the sectarian divide throughout the region have an ability to be able to threaten Iraq's stability if they're not checked," Kerry told reporters.

Kerry condemned the "horrific series of assaults" by Al-Qaeda, including Sunday's attacks that killed 74 people during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

An [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] front group took credit, saying that Shiites "will not dream of security during night or day, during Eid or other" days.

Kerry warned of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] activity in Syria, where mostly [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] rebels are fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the heterodox Alawite movement whose government is secular.

"With many [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] leaders now operating in Syria, we all need to accelerate our work in order to set the conditions for diplomatic settlement for the Syrian crisis," Kerry said.

The United States, along with [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] monarchies Qatar and Saudi Arabia, has supported the rebels but says it only provides non-lethal assistance.

Iraq 'not having a sectarian war': Zebari

The United States has pledged further aid to the rebels after concluding that Assad used chemical weapons.

Al-Assad receives support from Iran, a Shiite theocracy and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] adversary, and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.

The United States has accused Iraq - whose Shiite majority took charge after US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein - of turning a blind eye to Iranian shipments over its soil of weapons to Syria.

Kerry said he would talk to Zebari about weapons both going in and out of Syria. "It's a two-way street. It's a dangerous street," Kerry said.

Zebari said that Iraq was pursuing "an independent and neutral position" on Syria.

"We kept our distance on both sides of the conflict and Iraq has not provided arms, money or oil to the Syrian regime," he said.

Zebari said that Iraq is "not having a civil or sectarian war," calling [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] a global threat.

"We've been there before in 2007, 2008," he said, referring to intense sectarian bloodshed at the time. "We are not going to go there again." In the latest attacks, coordinated bombings in mostly Shiite areas of Baghdad killed 24 people on Aug. 15.

The killings came a day after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed large-scale efforts to hunt for militants.

August/15/2013

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Kerry, Zebari convene 4th meeting of joint coordination cmte

15/08/2013 | 08:44 PM | Gulf News

WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (KUNA) -- Secretary of State John Kerry stressed here Thursday that the U.S. welcomes the progress Iraq has made recently, saying there are "significant things that being achieved." Speaking at the fourth meeting of the U.S.-Iraq Diplomatic and Political Joint Coordinating Committee, Kerry said that his talks with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari were "very good" as they discussed "the challenges that Iraq faces, the importance of Iraq and its relationship with the United States."

He added that since the committee met last September, Iraq has taken "a number of noteworthy diplomatic strides," and that "a host of progress has been made." He shed light on the Iraq settling several "difficult issues with Kuwait stemming from the 1991 Gulf War," and that Iraq has "dramatically" improved relations with Jordan and has improved its relations with Turkey. He added that Iraq has "also begun to stabilize broader relationships in the region." Kerry welcomed Zebari's "plan to meeting with Foreign Minister Davutoglu of Turkey in the very near future in order to discuss issues of mutual interest," and he also welcomed "the fact that they have renewed relations with Kuwait."

Furthermore, Kerry also welcomed "the internal political process that Iraq has made over the last months. But nobody should make any mistake -- we know there are very significant challenges that still remain. And we must face them together." He stressed that Iraq "sits at the intersection of regional currents of increasingly turbulent, violent and unpredictable actions -- And al-Qaeda, as we have seen, has launched a horrific series of assaults on innocent Iraqis. And this al-Qaeda network, we know, stretches well beyond Iraq's borders." "With many al-Qaeda leaders now operating in Syria, we all need to accelerate our work in order to set the conditions for diplomatic settlement for the Syrian crisis," he noted.

He added "we hope also to discuss this morning the issue of weapons flowing from the Syrian conflict into Iraq for use against Iraqis, or weapons flowing through Iraq and going into Syria. It's a two-way street. It's a dangerous street." He indicated that the ongoing efforts of Iran and Hezbollah "that are trying to fuel the dangerous conflict in the region from the other side" will also be discussed. "The United States remains very committed to working together with the Iraqi government to address regional challenges, and we welcome the steps that have been taken by the Iraqis to build a strong democratic and inclusive state, " the U.S. top diplomat remarked. For his part, Zebari said that his country has witnessed recently "the renewal of violence, of terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda more frequently." "The key message here, we've come here to seek your help and support and security cooperation with the Iraqi government, in fact, in counterterrorism and to have capacity-building for our security forces to stand up to face to this increasing threat from the nexus of al-Qaeda and the Nusra Front as a spillover coming over from Syria," he remarked.

He stressed that "Al-Qaeda is not a local threat; it's a global threat, as is proved by the recent closures of so many of your diplomatic missions in the region and in North Africa." On the Syrian crisis, Zebari noted "I would like to confirm that really, Iraq is having an independent and neutral position vis-a-vis the Syrian crisis. And we have said all along we believe that a political solution is the most viable way forward for Syria," adding "but our position is difficult." Kerry and his Iraqi counterpart convened the fourth meeting of the Political and Diplomatic Joint Coordination Committee (JCC), under the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA). This JCC builds on Kerry's visit to Iraq in March. The last JCC was held in Baghdad in September 2012 and is considered an important venue for advancing key bilateral priorities in support of Iraqi and regional stability. (end) si.gb KUNA 152044 Aug 13NNNN

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thanks LIT.  I have always wondered if security was a quiet but sure factor in revaluing. jmho