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| Coalition Leader Warns of Long Fight Against ISIS in Iraq | |
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| BAGHDAD — The American official coordinating the international coalition fighting the Islamic State said on Friday that the Iraqi military would not be ready for a campaign to retake Mosul, the largest Iraqi city under insurgent control, for as much as a year. | BAGHDAD — The American official coordinating the international coalition fighting the Islamic State said on Friday that the Iraqi military would not be ready for a campaign to retake Mosul, the largest Iraqi city under insurgent control, for as much as a year. |
| Mosul has become a symbol of the strength of the Islamist insurgency, which has made the city its stronghold, and of the failure of the Iraqi security forces, which wilted in June as militants swept across the Syrian border and overran the city as they pushed toward Baghdad. | Mosul has become a symbol of the strength of the Islamist insurgency, which has made the city its stronghold, and of the failure of the Iraqi security forces, which wilted in June as militants swept across the Syrian border and overran the city as they pushed toward Baghdad. |
| The broad timeline given by the official, retired Gen. John R. Allen, seemed to reflect the immense challenges facing the Iraqi military command and its international partners, including about 1,600 American troops deployed by President Obama, as they seek to rebuild the Iraqi security forces. | The broad timeline given by the official, retired Gen. John R. Allen, seemed to reflect the immense challenges facing the Iraqi military command and its international partners, including about 1,600 American troops deployed by President Obama, as they seek to rebuild the Iraqi security forces. |
| “When it’s undertaken, the right kind of planning and preparation will have been done to make sure the outcome will favor the Iraqis,” said General Allen, a retired Marine who served in the Iraq War and was the top American commander in Afghanistan. | “When it’s undertaken, the right kind of planning and preparation will have been done to make sure the outcome will favor the Iraqis,” said General Allen, a retired Marine who served in the Iraq War and was the top American commander in Afghanistan. |
| “The operation will kick off within a year,” he told reporters, though he warned that the struggle would be protracted. Mosul is the second-largest city in Iraq. | “The operation will kick off within a year,” he told reporters, though he warned that the struggle would be protracted. Mosul is the second-largest city in Iraq. |
| “It’s not a single battle,” he said. “It’s a campaign.” | “It’s not a single battle,” he said. “It’s a campaign.” |
| General Allen’s comments came during a brief trip to Iraq to meet with what he called “a broad range of actors across the Iraqi political and military spheres.” It was his first visit to Baghdad since his appointment by the Obama administration last month to lead the international coalition. | General Allen’s comments came during a brief trip to Iraq to meet with what he called “a broad range of actors across the Iraqi political and military spheres.” It was his first visit to Baghdad since his appointment by the Obama administration last month to lead the international coalition. |
| In the northern and western parts of the country that it controls, the Islamic State has carried out mass executions, abducted women and girls as sex slaves and imposed a harsh form of Shariah, or Islamic law. Relief officials say more than a million people have been displaced from their homes. | In the northern and western parts of the country that it controls, the Islamic State has carried out mass executions, abducted women and girls as sex slaves and imposed a harsh form of Shariah, or Islamic law. Relief officials say more than a million people have been displaced from their homes. |
| On Friday, the insurgents distributed leaflets demanding that all medical personnel and teachers who left areas under their control return to their hometowns within 10 days. Violators would be penalized by the confiscation of their homes and possessions, the Islamic State warned. Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, the new United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement this week that the insurgency’s abuses “may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.” | On Friday, the insurgents distributed leaflets demanding that all medical personnel and teachers who left areas under their control return to their hometowns within 10 days. Violators would be penalized by the confiscation of their homes and possessions, the Islamic State warned. Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, the new United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement this week that the insurgency’s abuses “may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.” |
| Officials fear that the longer the group is allowed to remain in control of conquered areas, the more entrenched it will become and the harder it will be to dislodge. Yet so far, the Iraqi military, despite the support of an American-led campaign of airstrikes, has not been able to make significant, sustained gains against the insurgency. | Officials fear that the longer the group is allowed to remain in control of conquered areas, the more entrenched it will become and the harder it will be to dislodge. Yet so far, the Iraqi military, despite the support of an American-led campaign of airstrikes, has not been able to make significant, sustained gains against the insurgency. |
| In response to a question about the efficacy of the aerial bombardments, General Allen said they had “slowed the momentum” of the Islamic State and provided valuable support for Iraqi forces holding strategic positions, like the Haditha Dam in Anbar Province, and for Iraqi forces retaking ground, like the battle in August at the Mosul Dam. Two more nations on Friday were poised to join the aerial campaign. In Australia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that his country’s forces would take part in airstrikes and that special operations units would advise the Iraqi military. In Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked Parliament on Friday to approve airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq. A vote was expected on Monday, and approval seemed likely. | In response to a question about the efficacy of the aerial bombardments, General Allen said they had “slowed the momentum” of the Islamic State and provided valuable support for Iraqi forces holding strategic positions, like the Haditha Dam in Anbar Province, and for Iraqi forces retaking ground, like the battle in August at the Mosul Dam. Two more nations on Friday were poised to join the aerial campaign. In Australia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that his country’s forces would take part in airstrikes and that special operations units would advise the Iraqi military. In Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked Parliament on Friday to approve airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq. A vote was expected on Monday, and approval seemed likely. |
| But General Allen emphasized that the strategy to beat back and destroy the insurgency would be a long and complex military and political effort. | But General Allen emphasized that the strategy to beat back and destroy the insurgency would be a long and complex military and political effort. |
| A centerpiece will be strengthening the Iraqi security forces, which have suffered from poor leadership, low morale, rampant corruption and chronic problems of logistics, intelligence and resupply, officials say. | A centerpiece will be strengthening the Iraqi security forces, which have suffered from poor leadership, low morale, rampant corruption and chronic problems of logistics, intelligence and resupply, officials say. |
| “We must build Iraqi capacity to take on the fight,” General Allen said, reiterating Mr. Obama’s vow not to deploy American combat troops to Iraq. | “We must build Iraqi capacity to take on the fight,” General Allen said, reiterating Mr. Obama’s vow not to deploy American combat troops to Iraq. |
| A vital piece of the military strategy includes a plan to bolster national guard units under the authority of the provincial governors. The plan — proposed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi last month — echoes a strategy employed during the Iraq War, in which moderate Sunni tribes were paid and armed to fight alongside Iraqi and American troops. | A vital piece of the military strategy includes a plan to bolster national guard units under the authority of the provincial governors. The plan — proposed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi last month — echoes a strategy employed during the Iraq War, in which moderate Sunni tribes were paid and armed to fight alongside Iraqi and American troops. |
| General Allen was the deputy Marine commander in Anbar Province at the time and helped to guide the formation and implementation of that strategy, called the Awakening. But officials say the details of the national guard project are still being worked out, including how to engage the Sunni tribes and whether to eventually integrate Shiite militias. | General Allen was the deputy Marine commander in Anbar Province at the time and helped to guide the formation and implementation of that strategy, called the Awakening. But officials say the details of the national guard project are still being worked out, including how to engage the Sunni tribes and whether to eventually integrate Shiite militias. |
| In the meantime, however, some Sunni tribal groups, either on their own or in collaboration with Iraqi security forces, have taken up arms against Islamic State fighters. In recent weeks, officials said, Sunni tribal fighters have played a crucial role in several battles against Islamic State. | In the meantime, however, some Sunni tribal groups, either on their own or in collaboration with Iraqi security forces, have taken up arms against Islamic State fighters. In recent weeks, officials said, Sunni tribal fighters have played a crucial role in several battles against Islamic State. |
| This week, for instance, an unusual de facto alliance evolved in the district of Dhuluiya, about 50 miles north of Baghdad, where Sunni fighters from the Jubouri tribe found themselves fighting alongside Shiite militias — widely feared and mistrusted by Sunnis — and Iraqi security forces. | This week, for instance, an unusual de facto alliance evolved in the district of Dhuluiya, about 50 miles north of Baghdad, where Sunni fighters from the Jubouri tribe found themselves fighting alongside Shiite militias — widely feared and mistrusted by Sunnis — and Iraqi security forces. |
| “What made us fight together is that we face the same rival,” Hussein Abdulla al-Jubouri, a tribal sheikh from Dhuluiya, said in an interview on Friday. | “What made us fight together is that we face the same rival,” Hussein Abdulla al-Jubouri, a tribal sheikh from Dhuluiya, said in an interview on Friday. |
| While there was no formal agreement to fight together, he said, the various forces aligned out of common purpose. | While there was no formal agreement to fight together, he said, the various forces aligned out of common purpose. |
| The alliance, he said, managed to repel the insurgents. “We fought as one hand,” he said. | The alliance, he said, managed to repel the insurgents. “We fought as one hand,” he said. |