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In Baghdad, Kerry Wants Iraq to Help Stop Arms Shipments to Syria In Baghdad, Kerry Wants Iraq to Help Stop Arms Shipments to Syria
(35 minutes later)
BAGHDAD — Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Baghdad on Sunday and told Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki that Iraq must take steps to stop the shipment of Iranian arms to Syria if it wants to participate in broader discussions about that country’s future after President Bashar al-Assad of Syria leaves, a senior State Department official traveling with Mr. Kerry said. By MICHAEL R. GORDON
Mr. Kerry’s visit marks the first by an American secretary of state since Hillary Rodham Clinton went to Iraq in 2009 and comes amid concerns over Iraq’s ‘s role on the Syria crisis. BAGHDAD — Secretary of State John Kerry told Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki during a visit to Baghdad on Sunday that Iraq must take steps to stop the shipment of Iranian arms to Syria if it wants to participate in broader discussions about that country’s future.
Flights of Iranian arms to Syria through Iraqi airspace, which the senior State Department official said are occurring on nearly a daily basis, come at a critical time for Mr. Assad, whose government is facing increasing pressure from rebel fighters. Mr. Kerry’s visit marked the first by an American secretary of state since Hillary Rodham Clinton went to Iraq in 2009, and it came amid growing concern over Iraq’s role in the Syrian conflict.
The air corridor over Iraq has emerged as a main supply route for weapons, including rockets, antitank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, as well as Iranian personnel, according to American intelligence officials. There are supply lines on the ground as well. Flights of Iranian arms to Syria through Iraqi airspace, which a senior State Department official said are occurring on nearly a daily basis, have been crucial for the government of Bashar al-Assad, which faces increasing pressure from rebel fighters. Mr. Kerry said he had a “spirited” discussion with Mr. Maliki about the issue, but there was no tangible sign that the Iraqis would alter their position on the issue.
Mr. Kerry, speaking at a news conference at the American Embassy here after meeting with the prime minister, said he stressed that supporting Mr. Assad by allowing the flights is “problematic” and not representative of “common goals” between the United States and Iraq.
The air corridor over Iraq has emerged as a main route for military aid to Mr. Assad’s government, including rockets, antitank missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, as well as Iranian personnel, according to American intelligence officials. There are supply lines on the ground as well.
Iran has as an enormous stake in Syria, which is its staunchest Arab ally and has provided a channel for Iran’s support to the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah.Iran has as an enormous stake in Syria, which is its staunchest Arab ally and has provided a channel for Iran’s support to the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah.
And the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government led by Mr. Maliki sees a stake in Syria as well. Fearful that Mr. Assad’s overthrow would lead to Sunni control of neighboring Syria and embolden Iraqi Sunnis, Mr. Maliki has been tolerating the Iranian flights. The Shiite-dominated Iraqi government, led by Mr. Maliki, has a great stake in Syria as well. Fearful that Mr. Assad’s overthrow would lead to Sunni control of neighboring Syria and embolden Iraqi Sunnis who oppose him, Mr. Maliki has been seen as tolerating the Iranian flights.
American officials have repeatedly insisted that the Iraqis demand that the Iranian flights must land so they can be inspected. But the Iraqis have only carried out two inspections since July, the State Department official said. One inspection was of an Iranian flight that was on its way back to Tehran after delivering its cargo in Syria. Iran has insisted that the flights are merely carrying humanitarian aid.American officials have repeatedly insisted that the Iraqis demand that the Iranian flights must land so they can be inspected. But the Iraqis have only carried out two inspections since July, the State Department official said. One inspection was of an Iranian flight that was on its way back to Tehran after delivering its cargo in Syria. Iran has insisted that the flights are merely carrying humanitarian aid.
Iraq has yet to develop an Air Force and since American forces left in 2011 United States warplanes no longer patrol Iraq’s skies. Iraq has yet to develop an air force, and since the United States military left the country in 2011, American warplanes no longer patrol Iraq’s skies.
The Iranian flights pose a major challenge for American strategy on Syria. Mr. Kerry has repeatedly said that the Obama administration wants to change Mr. Assad's “calculation” that he can prevail militarily and persuade him to relinquish power and agree to a political transition. But Robert Ford, the senior State Department official on Syria policy, told Congress last week that Iranian and Russian military assistance has fortified Mr. Assad's belief that he can win militarily. The Iranian flights pose a major challenge for American strategy on Syria. Mr. Kerry has repeatedly said that the Obama administration wants to change Mr. Assad's "calculation" that he can prevail militarily and persuade him to relinquish power and agree to a political transition. But Robert Ford, the senior State Department official on Syria policy, told Congress last week that Iranian and Russian military assistance has fortified Mr. Assad's belief that his military can still win.
As a senator, Mr. Kerry suggested that the United States should consider linking its support for Iraq with Mr. Maliki’s willingness to order the inspection of the Iranian flights. “If so many people have entreated the government to stop and that doesn’t seem to be having an impact,” Mr. Kerry said in September when he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “that sort of alarms me a little bit and seems to send a signal to me maybe we should make some of our assistance or some of our support contingent on some kind of appropriate response.” As a senator, Mr. Kerry suggested that the United States should consider linking its support for Iraq with Mr. Maliki’s willingness to order the inspection of the Iranian flights. "If so many people have entreated the government to stop and that doesn’t seem to be having an impact,” Mr. Kerry said in September when he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “that sort of alarms me a little bit and seems to send a signal to me maybe we should make some of our assistance or some of our support contingent on some kind of appropriate response.”
But as a secretary of state Mr. Kerry has adopted a less confrontational approach. A senior official said that Mr. Kerry message to Mr. Maliki was that “you can't be supporting Assad in the way that you are” if Iraq wants to have a role in the broader multinational discussion of Syria's future. As secretary of state, however, Mr. Kerry has adopted a less confrontational approach.
On Iraq’s fraught political scene, Mr. Kerry plans to take several steps to encourage Shia, Sunni and Kurdish leaders to cooperate, the official said. He is expected to ask Mr. Maliki to revisit the decision to postpone provincial elections in the two Sunni provinces of Anbar and Nineveh. That decision, which the Iraqi government asserts was made for security reasons, would deprive citizens to vote in these heavily Sunni regions. The provincial elections had been scheduled for April and are to take place in the rest of the country. On Iraq’s fraught political scene, Mr. Kerry pushed Mr. Maliki to reconsider a recent decision to postpone provincial elections in two Sunni-dominated provinces of Anbar and Nineveh, both the site of ongoing protests by Iraq’s minority Sunni Muslim community. The Iraqi government has justified the delay by citing security concerns.
Mr. Kerry also intends to asks Sunni leaders to rescind their boycott of participation in the Iraqi cabinet. In addition to meeting with Mr. Maliki, Mr. Kerry plans to meet with Osama al-Nujaifi, the speaker of the Iraqi parliament and a Sunni. He is also expected to speak by telephone with Massoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdish Regional Government, who is in Erbil. Mr. Kerry said Sunday, “everyone needs to vote simultaneously.” He added, “no country knows more about voting under difficult circumstances than Iraq.” The elections had been scheduled for April 20 and are to take place in the rest of the country.
A leading Sunni, Rafi al-Essawi, recently resigned his post as finance minister to protest Mr. Maliki’s reluctance to share power with Sunni leaders. A warrant has been issued for his arrest and he has reportedly sought refuge with Sunni tribes in Anbar. When the United States had troops in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, the top American commander, wrote Mr. Maliki stating that there were no basis for claims that Mr. Essawi was linked to terrorists. In addition to meeting with Mr. Maliki, Mr. Kerry met with Osama al-Nujaifi, the speaker of the Iraqi parliament and a Sunni. He also spoke by telephone with Massoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdish Regional Government, who is in Erbil.
A senior State Department official traveling with the secretary y suggested that Mr. Kerry would take a more restrained approach. The official said that Mr. Kerry would ask Mr. Maliki's what action by Essawi "has warranted this arrest warrant" and stress that Iraq should abide by the rule of law. A leading Sunni, Rafi al-Essawi, recently resigned his post as finance minister to protest Mr. Maliki’s reluctance to share power with Sunni leaders. A warrant has been issued for Mr. Essawi's arrest – for alleged links to terrorists that senior American officials have said are not true – and he has reportedly sought refuge with Sunni tribes in Anbar.
The trip comes as American influence in the country has begun to recede. The former defense secretary Leon E. Panetta told the United States Special Inspector General on Iraq Reconstruction that the withdrawal of American forces in 2011 has limited American influence over Mr. Maliki, according to a report issued this month by the inspector general Mr. Kerry did not discuss Mr. Essawi specifically with Mr. Maliki, but did have a broad conversation with the prime minister on human rights concerns, aides said.
Ryan Crocker, the former American ambassador in Baghdad has urged the Obama administration to step up its engagement with Iraqi leaders. “What it is time for,” Mr. Crocker told a conference at the Carnegie Endowment on International Peace last week, is “sustained engagement.” The trip comes as American influence in the country has begun to recede. Former Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta told the United States Special Inspector General on Iraq Reconstruction that the withdrawal of American forces in 2011 had limited American influence over Mr. Maliki, according to a report issued this month by the inspector general.
Aides to Mr. Kerry said that is one purpose of his trip. Ryan Crocker, the former American ambassador in Baghdad, has urged the Obama administration to step up its engagement with Iraqi leaders. "What it is time for," Mr. Crocker told a conference at the Carnegie Endowment on International Peace last week, is "sustained engagement."
Aides to Mr. Kerry said that was one purpose of his trip.