Iraq’s parliament speaker: US military response too 'slow'

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s parliament speaker criticized the US military effort in Iraq, saying it was “slow” and the response did not match the magnitude of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) crimes.

“The US says it fights ISIS. We don’t want to refute their claim. We think they are trying.  But we are questioning the way they deal with this issue,” Salim al-Jabouri told Rudaw in an interview.

“They are slow and the scope of the response does not correspond to the magnitude of the mass crimes committed,” he added. “Airstrikes alone are not enough.”

US President Barack Obama’s use of airstrikes in the fight against ISIS, and his refusal to deploy combat troops, has been criticized by his opponents.

On Thursday, the Pentagon’s top general suggested that the US military presence in Iraq – soon to be as many as 3,100 personnel after last week’s announcement that an additional 1,500 troops would be sent to the country -- would train Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).

Gen. Martin Dempsey said that 80,000 Iraqi troops would be needed to recapture Iraq’s second city Mosul and other territories lost to ISIS.

Jabouri, a Sunni, said he approves of the international military intervention to degrade ISIS, but underscored that Iraq’s sovereignty must be respected.

“I think Iraq’s sovereignty must be respected in accordance with the popular demand and consent so that the resistance against the militant groups is conducted properly,” he added. 

He said US intervention now could not be compared to the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

“Foreign interventions have given rise to Islamic militancy, but now things are different as Iraqi people here realized that the country is in danger because of these terrorist groups,” said Jabouri.

“In the past, US forces came here at the request of some leading political or social figures and not at the request of the people. Now, the local tribes that opposed US intervention call on the international community to support them against ISIS,” he said.

Jabouri denied that the large Sunni population under ISIS rule is supporting the group.

“These people are hostages at the hands of ISIS. Those who have had the economic means have left the ISIS areas. But there are many people who have remained as hostages of ISIS and cannot leave. They are being terrorized constantly and this is why they haven’t been able to leave,” he said.

Jabouri called on the Iraqi government to empower Sunni tribes in the areas controlled by ISIS with “weapons and ammunition.”

“The Iraqi government is the only body that can do this and so far we have not seen much of it. We don’t want to see militias taking over the areas,” he said.

Asked about reports that the Iraqi government is sending the salaries of civil servants in ISIS territories, and supplying the areas with electricity and water, Jabouri said this was done on humanitarian grounds.

“These areas are in need of the basic services despite the fact that they are in ISIS control. There are women and children there that need basic services,” he said.

“The money that is sent there is not ending up in the hands of ISIS,” Jabouri added. “Ordinary people should not be punished for the atrocities committed by the terrorists.”

The speaker also called for a “new political chapter in Iraq,” saying that lawsuits against Sunni political personalities filed under the rule of former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, should be scrapped. He acknowledged that some former politicians had taken refuge in the northern Kurdistan Region.

“Generally, the political personalities that are currently in Erbil are very much influential in Iraq. They enjoy good relations with different tribes and can be effective in confronting the Islamic State’s terror,” Jabouri said.

“We really would like to close the legal and court cases against most of these people since the accusations are often flawed and unfounded,” said Jabouri, who grew up in the Kurdistan Region and was in Erbil this week to attend a meeting of Sunni leaders.

“My relatives still live in Kalar and I take pride in that,” he said.  “I have lived there with my relatives and friends. I think we all appreciate the hospitality of these areas very much,” he said.