69 million page views

Iraq's al-Malik gave ISIS $500 Million?

Reader comment on item: Caliph Ibrahim's Brutal Moment

Submitted by Michael S (United States), Aug 12, 2014 at 16:41

I don't expect the "Caliphate" to grow significantly beyond Iraq and Syria, so the maps aren't important to me. I AM interested, however, in the complex web of support that this "Caliphate" has been getting.

1. Initially, ISIS/ISIL/IS/the Caliphate, or whatever one wants to call these bandits, was clearly funded, supplied and otherwise fully abetted by Turkey.

2. With the "taking of Turkish hostages" by ISIS during the attack on Mosul, the Turkish-ISIS alliance supposedly ended. But did it? Whereas other prisoners of ISIS are routinely beheaded and worse, these Turks have been unmolested. In return, Turkey, a NATO ally, has offically taken a "hands off" stance against ISIS, while banning press coverage of their activities. When the US began token attacks against ISIS, Turkey would not participate "because of the hostages".

3. The strongest ally of Turkey in the area is the Barzani government of the Iraqi Kurdish Autonomous Region; and the strongest enemy is the Syrian Kurdish Autonomous Region, which backs the anti-Turkish Kurdish guerillas in Turkey. With the recent ISIS conquest of Kurdish-controlled areas in Iraq (which led to US air strikes against ISIS), the Kurdish PEOPLE are solidly united against the Turkish client ISIS. Needless to say, Kurdish oil exports to Turkey keep Barzani in power. ISIS' attack has therefore opened a wound among the Kurds -- much to the advantage of Iraq's divisive Prime Minister, Nuri al-Malik. This leads us to the next intrigue:

4. This, from the Kurdish press:

August 12, 2014

Every since the fall of Mosel, a city of 1.5 Million, I have been thinking of how and why the city fail so fast and so easily. No one can refute the fact that the Iraqi military is very ineffective, corrupt, lazy and most importantly, has no desire to fight but still one must wonder why they fled so fast in huge numbers even before the arrival of ISIS to Mosel. Furthermore, the Iraqi army/government not only left huge military hardware to the terrorists, but they left a bank with $500 Million in cash for the taken!!

...Could it be that ISIS is actually working for the benefit Al-Maliki? Is there a connection/relationship between Al-Maliki and ISIS? How is it that a small government owned bank in Mosel contains $500 Million in cash and that was placed there only few days prior to ISIS moving into Mosel? Why was the money there to begin with? Is it possible that Al-Mailki provided ISIS with money and weapons in order to fight the Kurds?

-- http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2014/8/state8301.htm

5. Elsewhere on the web, we are told that the Turks are now supporting both ISIS and the Kurds -- of all their opposing factions, even those carrying out a rebellion in Turkey -- in order to create a bleeding buffer zone between them and the Iraqi government.

As things stand, I count Turkey and the Barzani Kurdish Regional Government on the side of ISIS strategically (even though they may be fighting each other, with a slack hand, on the ground). I count the opposition Kurdish area in Iraq, that which supports the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), as well as the Syrian Kurdish region of Rojava, as being allied with the Shi'ite Iraqi government (soon to be sans al-Malik, if the US has its way), and with their allies: Iran, Hizbullah and Syria's Bashar al-Assad.

With this bundling, one can successfully make some sense of the regional connections in the Middle East (the Turkey-Barzani bloc is tied in with Qatar and HAMAS; and the bulk of Arab States are generally allied to Saudi Arabia). The Turkish bloc is now actively engaged in a proxy war against Israel in Gaza, where it is strategically aligned with its otherwise enemy, Iran.

As Middle Eastern alliances go, that actually isn't too hard to comprehend. What is hard to put a fix on, however, is the position of the US: President Obama is seemingly on the side of the Turks, Iraqis (and hence Iranians) and all the diverse Kurdish factions against ISIS; and in Syria the US indirectly supports ISIS against Bashar al-Assad. The US is also allied with Turkey, which backs the anti-government forces in the Egyptian Sinai -- which, in turn, are working in collusion with Iranian-backed forces who are currently at war with both Egypt and Israel.

Confusing? Not if you consider that it is in the interest of Turkey, the US and Iran to generally destabilize the region via a bloodbath. The odd man out in this is Israel, which actually wants stability. The queer thing is that the US has actually been working more closely with Israel than with any of the other players (Obama still talks to Netanyahu on the phone, even though he hates him; but the Turks and Iraqis can only talk to Biden).

The big question in my mind, is which side Obama is really on: Is it Israel? or the Seven-Headed Islamic Hydra?

Submitting....

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

Submit a comment on this item

Reader comments (38) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1folly of the 'experts' [94 words]David, ThailandSep 20, 2014 23:48218084
Will NATO have to save Turkey and stop the barbarians at the gate? [164 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
PezDispenserAug 16, 2014 16:26217194
1Turkey's intentions are aggressive, not defensive [136 words]Michael S.Aug 19, 2014 16:35217194
Er, just for the record... [140 words]David, ThailandSep 21, 2014 00:45217194
3Iraq's al-Malik gave ISIS $500 Million? [822 words]Michael SAug 12, 2014 16:41217111
2all very puzzling [124 words]saraAug 12, 2014 20:36217111
1A Millipolar/ Bipolar/ Unipolar World [857 words]Michael SAug 13, 2014 05:07217111
1Complex response [577 words]saraAug 14, 2014 21:46217111
1The Samson Option [527 words]Michael S.Aug 15, 2014 03:07217111
1ISIS AND THE SAUDI GOVERMENT [260 words]IMAD NAHAS /NEO KORBENAug 25, 2014 19:06217111
1Turkish support for IS [217 words]Michael SAug 27, 2014 04:28217111
Looking at the map… [14 words]Richard BudelbergerAug 11, 2014 08:47217078
2Will the "clerks" wake up? [373 words]Fred BaehrAug 9, 2014 15:13217032
حش كوكب or Hash Kawkab? It is the ultimate punishment for a Khalifa! [171 words]dhimmi no moreAug 9, 2014 11:29217016
1al-Khulafa' al-Rashidiin الخلفاء الراشدين three of them we murdered [253 words]dhimmi no moreAug 9, 2014 08:33217008
1El califato universal [19 words]Angel OterosAug 8, 2014 02:39216978
2You made a minor mistake in the Map of Dawlat-al-Khilafa [133 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
PrashantAug 7, 2014 04:53216948
1Nice to Hear from a real Historian [307 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
AlexAug 6, 2014 22:13216827
The Real Reason Why "INTO THE DARK" Made it Into The Journal of Middle East Studies [46 words]PezDispenserAug 9, 2014 11:00216827
close but not complete... [131 words]shAug 6, 2014 21:06216812
4Genocide Against the Yazidi in Iraq by IS [64 words]LudvikusAug 6, 2014 09:55216649
4Evil flourishes when the good do nothing (or not enough) [149 words]Doug MayfieldAug 6, 2014 06:49216607
the map reflects a narrow world view [55 words]mythAug 6, 2014 06:12216598
1Time for lies [64 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
MuslimAug 5, 2014 21:04216554
5Cannot underestimate the Caliphate [148 words]Michael Hanni MorcosAug 5, 2014 17:32216548
1barbarians at the gate [26 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Steve bryanAug 5, 2014 16:04216544
Interesting [94 words]PHILIORAug 5, 2014 14:40216543
Interesting is perhaps Too interesting [138 words]Jules PostenAug 7, 2014 03:27216543
Far Too Sanguine? [507 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Ron ThompsonAug 5, 2014 13:40216542
THE MAP IS FALSE...THE ISLAM HAVE MORE IN EUROPE: FRANCE, GERMANY, HOLLAND,, ETC... [21 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Mateo MathausAug 5, 2014 13:09216540
Spheres & power [40 words]David W. LincolnAug 5, 2014 12:26216538
maps differ [26 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
JayAug 5, 2014 10:38216536
Your title may be premature [13 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Roslyn FranklAug 5, 2014 10:31216534
Hopefully the west will wake up [10 words]Ilana GoldsteinAug 5, 2014 10:08216532
The World stands on the Brink [371 words]Jules PostenAug 5, 2014 09:45216531
2From the Arab Spring to the Islamic Caliphate - While Operation Protective Edge Simmers [209 words]LudvikusAug 5, 2014 09:22216530
We might encourage the Caliphate... [190 words]Mr. DownerAug 5, 2014 08:52216529
Domestic Vignette in ISIS Household [14 words]DaveAug 5, 2014 08:11216528

Follow Daniel Pipes

Facebook   Twitter   RSS   Join Mailing List

All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes

Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes

(The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998.

For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.)