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U.S. Signals a Willingness to Help New Iraqi Government U.S. Signals a Willingness to Help New Iraqi Government
(about 3 hours later)
SYDNEY, Australia — The United States would consider expanding military and political support for Iraq if Haider al-Abadi assumes the duties of prime minister and leads a multisectarian government, Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Tuesday.SYDNEY, Australia — The United States would consider expanding military and political support for Iraq if Haider al-Abadi assumes the duties of prime minister and leads a multisectarian government, Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Tuesday.
Neither Mr. Kerry nor Mr. Hagel provided any details about what additional support might be provided, and it remains unclear whether the Obama administration is willing to expand airstrikes significantly to help a new Iraqi government roll back the gains made by Sunni militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The gesture of support, which was made after a meeting with their Australian counterparts here, is intended to encourage Iraqi politicians to coalesce around Mr. Abadi and to form an inclusive government. Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has resisted the choice of Mr. Abadi, producing a high-stakes political battle in Baghdad.
But neither Mr. Kerry nor Mr. Hagel provided details about what additional support might be provided, and it remains unclear whether the Obama administration would be willing to expand airstrikes or provide additional teams of American military advisers to help a new Iraqi government roll back the gains made by Sunni militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
“We are prepared to consider additional political, military and security options as Iraq starts to build a new government,” Mr. Kerry said.“We are prepared to consider additional political, military and security options as Iraq starts to build a new government,” Mr. Kerry said.
As they spoke, British officials were planning further modest steps in support of the United States in northern Iraq with an announcement that the Royal Air Force would deploy a “small number” of Tornado warplanes on surveillance missions. But officials again ruled out a combat role against Sunni militants threatening Kurdish positions. Even as the political struggle in Baghdad escalated, the United States’ allies announced modest military steps in support of the American effort in northern Iraq.
The British warplanes would support efforts to drop humanitarian aid to thousands of Yazidi people besieged by the militants on Mount Sinjar, officials said, and Britain would also investigate ways to help deliver equipment to Kurdish forces battling the insurgents. The Central Intelligence Agency is already supplying some weapons to Kurdish pesh merga fighters, although the types and amounts of arms are unclear. David Johnston, the Australian defense minister, said that his country would drop humanitarian aid by air to thousands of besieged Yazidi civilians on Mount Sinjar.
The British government said on Tuesday that air force pilots had completed a second airdrop of humanitarian supplies over the rugged uplands late on Monday. One earlier mission was aborted at the last minute, officials said, because the pilots feared the loads could cause injuries among crowds waiting on the ground. British officials said the Royal Air Force would deploy a “small number” of Tornado aircraft to carry out surveillance missions in support of the airdrop mission.
The supplies included water, water purification systems and solar lamps that also function as cellphone battery chargers, British officials said. The decision to use the planes to improve reconnaissance of the situation on the ground follows an episode in which a British airdrop was aborted at the last minute because the pilots feared the loads could injure those waiting on the ground.
Although the George W. Bush administration helped bring Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to power and the Obama administration acquiesced as he maneuvered to secure a second term, American officials have opposed a third term for the Iraqi prime minister, who has been criticized for his authoritarian tendencies and for aggravating sectarian tensions. “We are providing humanitarian assistance,'’ the British foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, said on Monday. “This is not simple — getting it in is very challenging, getting people off that mountain is even more challenging.”
The United States is calculating that a new prime minister will be able to establish an inclusive government that would grant Sunnis more of a voice in the political system and, thus, make them less hospitable to ISIS militants. While some lawmakers from the Conservative Party of Prime Minister David Cameron clamored for the recall of Parliament to debate a tougher response, Mr. Hammond rejected the idea. “We don’t envisage a combat role at the present time,” he said.
On Monday, Mr. Kerry warned that the United States and the international community would cut off its support for Iraq if Mr. Maliki employed the security forces to extend his rule. Having brandished the stick, Mr. Kerry and Mr. Hagel on Tuesday offered a carrot: the possibility of expanded support. The George W. Bush administration helped bring Mr. Maliki to power and the Obama administration acquiesced as he maneuvered to secure a second term, but American officials have opposed a third term for the Iraqi prime minister, who has been criticized for his authoritarian tendencies and for aggravating sectarian tensions.
The United States “is prepared to intensify its security cooperation,” Mr. Hagel said. The United States is calculating that a new prime minister will be able to establish an inclusive government that would grant Sunnis more of a voice in the political system and, thus, make them less tolerant of ISIS militants.
Mr. Kerry and Mr. Hagel conferred here with Julie Bishop, the Australian foreign affairs minister, and David Johnston, the Australian defense minister. As expected, the two sides signed a so-called force posture agreement that provides for the rotation of United States Marines and Air Force personnel in northeast Australia. On Monday, Mr. Kerry warned that the United States and the international community would cut off its support for Iraq if Mr. Maliki employed security forces to extend his rule. Having brandished the stick, Mr. Kerry and Mr. Hagel on Tuesday offered a carrot: the possibility, albeit vague, of expanded support.
They also discussed the problem of Western citizens who volunteer to fight with ISIS and other extremist groups, become radicalized and then return home. They also talked about the situation in Ukraine. The United States “is prepared to intensify its security cooperation as Iraq undertakes and makes progress toward political reform,” Mr. Hagel said.
Britain, which once ranked among America’s closest allies in Afghanistan and Iraq, has been more reluctant to intervene in overseas campaigns recently, especially after Parliament last year refused to authorize punitive military action against Syria for its use of chemical weapons in the civil war there. So far, the Obama administration has committed itself to a containment strategy to prevent ISIS fighters from advancing on Erbil and Baghdad, while also providing some protection to Yazidi civilians who have sought refuge on Mount Sinjar.
The office of Prime Minister David Cameron announced the deployment of the Tornados without saying exactly where they would be based and stressed that only a small number would be sent to provide surveillance in support of humanitarian relief efforts. The question on the table, which Mr. Kerry and Mr. Hagel did not address on Tuesday, is whether the administration would be prepared to use airpower and send military advisers to to help a new Iraqi government and perhaps Sunni tribes try to break the group’s hold on northern and western Iraq.
“We are providing humanitarian assistance. This is not simple — getting it in is very challenging, getting people off that mountain is even more challenging,” Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Monday. The Kurds have asked the Obama administration to send or facilitate the delivery of arms — including antitank weapons, armored vehicles and ammunition — as they contend with the ISIS militants, who are equipped with seized American weapons.
While some lawmakers from Mr. Cameron’s Conservative Party called for the recall of Parliament to debate a tougher response, Mr. Hammond rejected the idea and said, “We don’t envisage a combat role at the present time.” And on Monday, Lt. Gen. William C. Mayville, the director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Washington, that the Kurds needed weapons to destroy some of the vehicles that ISIS has acquired as well as “longer-range weapons” to counter the militants.
“We are talking about a humanitarian intervention,” he said. “We have a very clear convention about consulting Parliament before British forces are committed into any kind of combat role.” Mr. Hagel provided no hint as to whether the Pentagon would soon provide weapons to the Kurds. Rather, he said, the American military was helping to transport weapons from the Iraqi government’s stocks to Kurdistan.
The Central Intelligence Agency is already supplying some weapons to Kurdish pesh merga fighters, although it remains unclear what kind of arms, and how many, are being provided.
During their meetings here with Mr. Johnston and Julie Bishop, the Australian foreign minister, Mr. Kerry and Mr. Hagel signed a so-called force posture agreement that provides for the rotation of United States Marines in northeast Australia.
The number of Marines is set to rise to 2,500 from 1,150, and the accord also provides for closer cooperation in other areas, like missile defense.
They also discussed the problem of Western citizens who volunteer to fight with ISIS and other extremist groups and then return home.
The Australian public has been gripped by a photograph of an Australian boy in Syria holding the severed head of a Syrian soldier. The image was posted on the Twitter account of his father, who left Australia to join ISIS. Ms. Bishop said that the photograph pointed to the danger that Westerners may become radicalized during while fighting with militant groups abroad.
“This image — perhaps even an iconic photograph — is really one of the most disturbing, stomach-turning, grotesque photographs ever displayed,” Mr. Kerry said.
Thirty-eight Australian citizens and residents died when a jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine last month. A Group of 20 meeting is scheduled for November in Australia, and Mr. Kerry said that the question of whether President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would be invited will be determined by how Russia deals with the Ukraine crisis “in these next days and weeks.”