This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- ISIS captures Iraq’s biggest hydroelectric dam, driving back Kurds
- Iran trapped in a quagmire supporting both Syria and Iraq
- Israel faces harsh international criticism over shelling of UN shelter
ISIS captures Iraq’s biggest hydroelectric dam, driving back Kurds
Terrorists with the Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria (IS or ISIS)defeated Kurdish Peshmerga (militia) forces and took control of Iraq’sbiggest hydroelectric dam, located near Mosul. This gives ISIScontrol of the water supply and electricity of much of northern Iraq and also the ability to flood major cities, threatening Baghdad.
Earlier, ISIS militants successfully captured an oil field and nearbyvillages after fighting with Kurdish forces who had control of thearea. Many analysts continue to remain skeptical of ISIS’s long-termability to control the huge swath of land it’s captured in a series oflightning raids, but so far ISIS has not only held on to its gains but continues to increase them. Al Arabiya and CNN
Iran trapped in a quagmire supporting both Syria and Iraq
During the last three years, Iran has invested a significant portionof its military resources supporting the regime of president Basharal-Assad of Syria, supplying Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC),weapons, and money both to Syria’s regime and to the Hezbollah militia fromLebanon who are supporting al-Assad in Syria.
However, Iran has beencaught by surprise by a major threat on its own doorstep, the rapidrise of the Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria (IS or ISIS). ISIS is aSunni Muslim terrorist organization with an objective of exterminatingall Shia Muslims. ISIS is threatening Iran’s allies in Iraq, as wellas significant Shia religious sites in Iraq that Iran is committed todefending.
Iran is known to be supplying weapons to Iraq’sgovernment. Iran has denied sending troops into Iraq, but some recentfunerals of IRGC fighters killed in Iraq indicates the presence of atleast a small number of Iranian troops. In addition, some Hezbollahforces that had been fighting in Syria, as well as Iraqi forces thathad been defending al-Assad in Syria, have been redeployed to Iraq.Some reports indicate that ISIS in Syria has begun to engage the Syrian army much more forcefully than in the past.
The result is that Iran finds that it’s fallen deep into a quagmire (aterm that Americans will recall from past wars). What was arelatively breezy level of military support for al-Assad in Syria hasnow turned into a two-front war facing an enemy that’s threateningSyria’s Alawite/Shia regime, Iraq’s Shia government, and Iran itself.Reuters and Al Arabiya
Israel faces harsh international criticism over shelling of UN shelter
On Sunday, Israel faced international criticism, including harshcriticism from the United States and United Nations, after an Israelishell killed ten Palestinians just outside a United Nations schoolsheltering 3,000 people who had fled there from earlier violence.United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon expressed “shock anddisbelief” that this had happened three times in the last week, andsaid:
The Israel Defense Forces have been repeatedlyinformed of the location of these sites. This attack, along withother breaches of international law, must be swiftly investigatedand those responsible held accountable. It is a moral outrage anda criminal act.
U.S. State Dept. spokesperson Jen Psaki said, “The United States isappalled by today’s disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA school inRafah sheltering some 3,000 displaced persons, in which ten morePalestinian civilians were tragically killed.”
Israel says that it’s investigating what happened. Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Al Ahram (Cairo)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Iraq, Mosul, Mosul dam,Baghdad, Kurds, Peshmerga,Iran, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, IRGCSyria, Bashar al-Assad, Lebanon, Hezbollah,Israel, Gaza, Ban Ki-moon, United Nations
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.