Ma'qal bin Yasar reported that the messenger of Allah said: "Prayer (Ibadah) at the time of turmoil is like migration (Hijrah) towards me." (Muslim)
'Omar bin al - Khattab reported that the messenger of Allah said:
"Troubles will afflict my people in latter days from their rulers.
None will escape from them except one who recognises Allah's religion and then fights for it with his tongue, hand and heart, and his reward will already be sure; and one who recognises the religion of Allah and holds on to it; and one who recognises the religion of Allah and keeps quiet about it - if he sees somebody who does good, he loves him, and if he sees somebody who does wrong, he is angry with him, he will be saved for all that he kept secret. (Baihaqi)
Qatar hosts largest US military base in Mideast
By Brad Lendon, CNN
Updated 0600 GMT (1400 HKT) June 6, 2017
Al Udeid Air Base hosts more than 100 US aircraft
Planes take off or land at air base every 10 minutes, 24/7, Air Force says
(CNN)As Saudi Arabia, along with a growing list of other countries, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday, it called on its allies to cease all travel and transport with its neighbor.
One of Saudi Arabia biggest allies, however, is the United States, which also happens to maintain its biggest concentration of military personnel in the Middle East at Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base.
The sprawling base 20 miles southwest of the Qatari capital of Doha is home to some 11,000 US military personnel.
-------
List of Qatar wars - alliances and opponents:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_involving_Qatar
----------
Kuwait's ruler travelled to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks with King Salman over a Gulf Arab dispute with Qatar, Gulf Arab officials said.
Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, is acting as a mediator between Doha and other Arab states which have severed diplomatic and transport ties with Doha.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday in a coordinated move, accusing the peninsula of supporting "terrorists" and Iran.
WATCH: Qatar's foreign minister talks to Al Jazeera about diplomatic crisis (12:39)
Yemen's internationally recognised government also cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of working with its enemies in the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, state news agency Saba reported.
The Maldives and Libya's out-of-mandate Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni later joined the Arab nations in saying they too would cut ties.
Sanctions include shutting down transport links, including closing borders, airspace and maritime territories, which led to fears of supply shortages.
In an interview on Monday with Al Jazeera, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Kuwait's ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, had asked Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar's ruling emir, to hold off on giving a speech about the crisis late on Tuesday night.
"He received a call from the emir of Kuwait asking him to postpone it in order to give time to solve the crisis," Sheikh Mohammed said.
READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis - All the latest updates
Sheikh Sabah called on Qatar's ruler to focus on easing tension and advised against making decisions that could escalate the situation, Kuwait state news agency Kuna said.
Still, the Qatari foreign minister struck a defiant tone, saying his nation rejected those trying to impose their will or intervene in its internal affairs.
Kuwait, Oman 'fear escalation'
Analyst Giorgio Cafiero of Gulf State Analytics, a geopolitical risk consultancy based in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera: "I think the Kuwaitis as well as Omanis ... fear the prospects of these tensions escalating in ways which could undermine the interest of all six members of the GCC.
"There are many analysts who believe that a potential break-up of the GCC has to be considered right now."
He added that if tension escalates, some have warned of a "military confrontation".
"If these countries fail to resolve their issues and such tensions reaches new heights, we have to be very open to the possibility of these six Arab countries no longer being able to unite under the banner of one council," said Cafiero.
READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis - How it affects air travel
The dispute between Qatar and the Arab countries escalated after a recent hack of Qatar's state-run news agency. It has spiralled since.
As it cut ties on Monday, Saudi Arabia charged that Qatar was embracing "various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region," including the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and armed groups supported by Iran in the kingdom's restive east.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry accused Qatar of taking an "antagonist approach" towards Cairo and said "all attempts to stop it from supporting terrorist groups failed".
Qatar denied the allegations, with a Foreign Ministry statement describing them as "baseless" on Monday.
The group issuing sanctions on Doha "is clearly the imposition of guardianship over Qatar, which is in itself a violation of its sovereignty, and is rejected outright," the statement said.
The move came just two weeks after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and vowed to improve ties with both Riyadh and Cairo to combat "terrorism" and contain Iran.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the move was rooted in long-standing differences and urged the parties to resolve them.
WATCH: US says Trump 'committed to resolving' Gulf Arab diplomatic crisis (1:56)
"It is true that the current US administration is adopting to have a bit more Saudi position distant from Qatari position," Richard Weitz, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at Hudson Institute, told Al Jazeera
"But I still think that the US military contacts can play a good role to help resolve, perhaps, some of the difference, since US military particular want an end to this dispute because of the difficulties to find a space and terrorism cooperation and so on."
The Gulf countries ordered their citizens out of Qatar and gave Qataris abroad 14 days to return home to their peninsular nation, whose only land border is with Saudi Arabia. The countries also said they would eject Qatar's diplomats.
READ MORE: Timeline of GCC, Egyptian discord with Qatar
The nations also said they planned to cut air and sea traffic. Trucks carrying food had begun lining up on the Saudi side of the border, apparently stranded. The Qatar Stock Exchange fell more than seven percent in trading Monday.
Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long-haul carriers, has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain until further notice.
On its website, the carrier said the suspension of its flights would take effect Tuesday and customers are being offered a refund.
The route between Doha and Dubai is popular among business travellers and both are major transit hubs for travellers between Asia and Europe.
INSIDE STORY: What's behind the diplomatic breakdown in the Gulf? (25:00)
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/kuwait-ruler-meet-saudi-king-qatar-row-170606100203072.html
Deep in the Gulf waters between Qatar and Iran lies the world's largest gas field, a 9,700-sq-km expanse that holds at least 43 trillion cubic metres of gas reserves.
Qatar's southern portion is known as North Field, while Iran's slice to the north is called South Pars. The two countries share exploration rights in the area, and it is one of many ties that bind them.
But Doha's relationship with Tehran has been put to a new test on Monday, after Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia led four other countries in cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing its fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member of undermining security in the region by siding with Iran, among other actions.
Saudi also urged "all brotherly countries and companies" to follow its lead in isolating Qatar, a call that GCC members Kuwait and Oman have so far sidestepped.
Saudi Arabia has claimed that Qatar is supporting "Iranian-backed terrorist groups" in the Saudi province of Qatif and in Bahrain, accusations that Doha called a "campaign of lies that have reached the point of complete fabrication".
What's behind the diplomatic breakdown in the Gulf?
Riyadh also said "authorities in Doha" have supported the Iran-backed Houthi armed group in Yemen. This despite Qatar's deployment of an estimated 1,000 troops to support the two-year Saudi-led campaign there.
In an editorial published on Monday, The National newspaper owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government also denounced Qatar's "false friendship" citing the "close ties between Doha and Tehran".
"Iran's actions in the Middle East have cost Doha's Arab neighbours blood and treasure," the editorial said, adding "the regime across the Arabian Gulf is no friend to Doha".
Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara, however, said the accusation "does not hold water", noting Abu Dhabi also maintains diplomatic relations with Tehran.
"And yet it prefers to sever its relationship with Qatar, rather than with Iran," he said.
In a separate statement, the Qatari Cabinet said the measures taken by the five countries against Doha were "unjustified".
"The aim is clear and it is to impose guardianship on the state. This by itself is a violation of its [Qatar's] sovereignty as a state."
Residents of Qatar welcome Saudi King Salman during his visit to Doha in December 2016 [Reuters]
Independent foreign policy
Souzan Krdli, a Tehran-based Gulf analyst, said more than demanding Doha's allegiance, Saudi and the UAE want to "rein Qatar in" and make it "another Bahrain if you will" in terms of foreign policy.
"Saudi and the UAE have always been troubled with Qatar's outreach and ambitious diplomacy," she told Al Jazeera.
Krdli, who previously worked at Qatar University, said Doha's relationship with Tehran reflects the country's attempt since 1995 "to carve a policy that is independent of its neighbours".
"This independence was an objective in itself, as well as a means to secure sovereignty" in the face of its larger neighbours, primarily Saudi with whom Qatar has had territorial disputes as recent as 1992, she said.
"The continuation of this independent foreign policy means banking on the economic and diplomatic ties Qatar has forged through investment, natural gas export, diplomacy and mediation."
In the middle of the current rift with Saudi, Krdli said Qatar is also "obliged" to maintain "a middle position" with Iran because of its shared gas exploration in the Gulf.
Krdli also noted, unlike previous disputes, when Qatar took immediate conciliatory actions to Saudi and the UAE, Doha is taking a more "defiant" stand this time.
Along with the decision by Saudi to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, Riyadh has also decided to block air, sea and land transport links.
There have been reports of trucks carrying food shipments from Saudi Arabia being blocked at the Qatari border.
FEATURES QATAR13 HOURS AGO
Qatar-Gulf rift: The Iran factor
Saudi-led severance of diplomatic ties with Qatar tests unity among GCC members as leaders call for dialogue.
Middle East analyst says if the Gulf crisis goes on it will only empower Iran in the region [Reuters]
by
Ted Regencia
Deep in the Gulf waters between Qatar and Iran lies the world's largest gas field, a 9,700-sq-km expanse that holds at least 43 trillion cubic metres of gas reserves.
Qatar's southern portion is known as North Field, while Iran's slice to the north is called South Pars. The two countries share exploration rights in the area, and it is one of many ties that bind them.
But Doha's relationship with Tehran has been put to a new test on Monday, after Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia led four other countries in cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing its fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member of undermining security in the region by siding with Iran, among other actions.
Saudi also urged "all brotherly countries and companies" to follow its lead in isolating Qatar, a call that GCC members Kuwait and Oman have so far sidestepped.
Saudi Arabia has claimed that Qatar is supporting "Iranian-backed terrorist groups" in the Saudi province of Qatif and in Bahrain, accusations that Doha called a "campaign of lies that have reached the point of complete fabrication".
What's behind the diplomatic breakdown in the Gulf?
Riyadh also said "authorities in Doha" have supported the Iran-backed Houthi armed group in Yemen. This despite Qatar's deployment of an estimated 1,000 troops to support the two-year Saudi-led campaign there.
In an editorial published on Monday, The National newspaper owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government also denounced Qatar's "false friendship" citing the "close ties between Doha and Tehran".
"Iran's actions in the Middle East have cost Doha's Arab neighbours blood and treasure," the editorial said, adding "the regime across the Arabian Gulf is no friend to Doha".
Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara, however, said the accusation "does not hold water", noting Abu Dhabi also maintains diplomatic relations with Tehran.
"And yet it prefers to sever its relationship with Qatar, rather than with Iran," he said.
In a separate statement, the Qatari Cabinet said the measures taken by the five countries against Doha were "unjustified".
"The aim is clear and it is to impose guardianship on the state. This by itself is a violation of its [Qatar's] sovereignty as a state."
Residents of Qatar welcome Saudi King Salman during his visit to Doha in December 2016 [Reuters]
Independent foreign policy
Souzan Krdli, a Tehran-based Gulf analyst, said more than demanding Doha's allegiance, Saudi and the UAE want to "rein Qatar in" and make it "another Bahrain if you will" in terms of foreign policy.
"Saudi and the UAE have always been troubled with Qatar's outreach and ambitious diplomacy," she told Al Jazeera.
Krdli, who previously worked at Qatar University, said Doha's relationship with Tehran reflects the country's attempt since 1995 "to carve a policy that is independent of its neighbours".
"This independence was an objective in itself, as well as a means to secure sovereignty" in the face of its larger neighbours, primarily Saudi with whom Qatar has had territorial disputes as recent as 1992, she said.
"The continuation of this independent foreign policy means banking on the economic and diplomatic ties Qatar has forged through investment, natural gas export, diplomacy and mediation."
In the middle of the current rift with Saudi, Krdli said Qatar is also "obliged" to maintain "a middle position" with Iran because of its shared gas exploration in the Gulf.
Krdli also noted, unlike previous disputes, when Qatar took immediate conciliatory actions to Saudi and the UAE, Doha is taking a more "defiant" stand this time.
Along with the decision by Saudi to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, Riyadh has also decided to block air, sea and land transport links.
There have been reports of trucks carrying food shipments from Saudi Arabia being blocked at the Qatari border.
Mediation not escalation
Sadegh Ghorbani, Tehran-based journalist covering foreign policy, told Al Jazeera the regional tension is "not welcome by Iran".
"However, it is clear that a rift in the GCC can be beneficial to Iran," he said. "Saudi Arabia is a lifeline for Qatar in terms of trade. We must wait and see whether Iran and Turkey can fill the void."
Already, Iran has offered food shipments to Qatar. Reza Nourani, chairman of Iran's union of agricultural exporters, said such transfers can reach Doha in 12 hours.
What's behind the diplomatic breakdown in the Gulf? – Inside Story
Earlier, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi called for a "clear and explicit dialogue" among the feuding parties, saying tensions would only threaten the interests of everyone in the region.
His statement reflected the social media posts of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif who wrote, "Neighbours are permanent; Geography can't be changed. Coercion is never the solution. Dialogue [sic] is imperative, especially during blessed Ramadan."
Mahjoob Zweiri, a Middle East expert at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera's Folly Bah Thibault that third party mediation is necessary to resolve the "crisis" immediately.
He said Saudi Arabia and its allies cannot leave Qatar without any other options by forcing it to choose sides.
"This is a scenario that will not lead to a solution. If this goes on, this will empower Iran in the region. I don't think Riyadh wants this," Zweiri, a doctorate graduate from the University of Tehran, said.
"I think if there is no mediation, if there is no third party intervening, I think we could see more escalation in this crisis."
Source: Al Jazeera News
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/06/qatar-gulf-rift-iran-factor-170605102522955.html
-----------------
Qatar's official news agency was hacked last week and fake remarks critical of US foreign policy were posted on its website, wrongly attributed to Qatar's leader.
Now, a series of emails belonging to the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the US have been leaked.
They reveal close coordination between the diplomat and a pro-Israeli think-tank in Washington DC.
The emails also show how ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) lobbied in the US against Qatar and Kuwait.
How will this impact US policy in the Gulf?
Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra
Guests:
Saad Djebbar - international lawyer
Ian Black - visiting senior fellow at the Middle East Centre at London School of Economics and a former Middle East editor for The Guardian newspaper
Mohammed Cherkaoui - professor of Conflict Resolution at George Mason University
Source: Al Jazeera News
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2017/06/media-attacks-qatar-170604190713001.html
----------
(CNSNews.com) – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates all severed diplomatic ties with Qatar in a concerted move on Monday, accusing of it supporting Shi’ite and Sunni extremists causing chaos and sectarianism across the region.
Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of supporting ISIS and al-Qaeda terrorists and the Muslim Brotherhood, backing Shi’ite Houthi militia in Yemen, and financing anti-government terrorism in Bahrain.
In a statement released through the official SPA news agency, the kingdom also accused Qatari authorities of sowing divisions in Saudi Arabia in a bid to incite anti-state resistance and undermine its sovereignty.
Bahrain meanwhile accused Qatar of “financing armed groups associated with Iran to carry out subversive attacks and spread chaos” in Bahrain, among other things.
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain said they were closing their airspace, ports and territorial waters to traffic from Qatar, and would not allow their citizens to visit Qatar or Qataris to visit their countries. They also directed their criticism at Qatari media outlets
Qatar was also expelled from the Saudi-led military coalition battling against the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in support of ousted President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
The deepening diplomatic row could prove awkward for the United States, which has close ties with all the countries involved – and has the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command located at Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base.
President Trump met with Qatari emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on the sidelines of last month’s U.S.-Arab-Islamic summit hosted by the Saudis in Riyadh.
The previous month, Defense Secretary James Mattis visited Doha to discuss “deepening the U.S.-Qatari strategic partnership” and the campaign to defeat ISIS, the Pentagon reported at the time.
Iran and its regional destabilization was a major theme at the summit attended by Trump in Riyadh.
Long-simmering tensions between Qatar and its neighbors came to the boil shortly after the high-level gathering, when Qatari media quoted the emir, al-Thani, as giving a speech in which he voiced support for Iran, and criticized the Saudi-led effort to isolate Tehran.
Qatar then denied the veracity of the report, alleging that its official news agency had been targeted by hackers.
In Monday’s fast-moving developments, the United Arab Emirates issued a statement through its official WAM news agency saying it was taking the same steps as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, in support of its two “sisterly” allies.
It cited in particular “Qatar’s continued support, funding and hosting of terror groups,” citing the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and al-Qaeda.
The Emirati news agency also accused Qatar of violating a statement issued at the May 21 U.S.-Arab-Islamic summit “on countering terrorism in the region and considering Iran a state sponsor of terrorism.”
Egypt’s foreign ministry said it was taking the same steps against Qatar as the Gulf states, “to protect its national security.”
“Qatar’s policy threatens Arab national security and sows the seeds of strife and division within Arab societies according to a deliberate plan aimed at the unity and interests of the Arab nation,” it said.
Egypt’s statement also accused Qatar of supporting terrorist organizations, naming the Muslim Brotherhood in particular.
In mid-2013 the Egyptian military, then led by the Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, ousted the elected Muslim Brotherhood government of President Mohammed Morsi. Sisi, now president, then outlawed the organization.
Qatar’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood has caused problems in the past with its Arab Gulf neighbors, which view the Muslim Brotherhood as a security threat to their regimes. In 2014, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE temporarily withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar in a dispute over the Brotherhood.
In a speech that year, a senior U.S. Treasury Department official voiced concern about Qatar’s stance on extremist groups fighting in Syria, as well as the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
The department’s then undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, David Cohen, said fundraisers in Qatar were collecting donations for extremists in Syria, including ISIS and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, a situation which he said “threatens to aggravate an already volatile situation.”
Cohen also said that Qatar “has for many years openly financed Hamas, a group that continues to undermine regional stability.”
https://www.cnsnews.com/news/articl...ulf-states-accuse-qatar-supporting-terrorists
---------------
Now the truth emerges: how the US fuelled the rise of Isis in Syria and Iraq
Seumas Milne
The sectarian terror group won’t be defeated by the western states that incubated it in the first place
Contact author
Wednesday 3 June 2015 15.56 EDT Last modified on Friday 7 April 2017 19.05 EDT
The war on terror, that campaign without end launched 14 years ago by George Bush, is tying itself up in ever more grotesque contortions. On Monday the trial in London of a Swedish man, Bherlin Gildo, accused of terrorism in Syria, collapsed after it became clear British intelligence had been arming the same rebel groups the defendant was charged with supporting.
The prosecution abandoned the case, apparently to avoid embarrassing the intelligence services. The defence argued that going ahead with the trial would have been an “affront to justice” when there was plenty of evidence the British state was itself providing “extensive support” to the armed Syrian opposition.
Terrorism has come about in assimilationist France and also in multicultural Britain. Why is that? | Kenan Malik
Read more
That didn’t only include the “non-lethal assistance” boasted of by the government (including body armour and military vehicles), but training, logistical support and the secret supply of “arms on a massive scale”. Reports were cited that MI6 had cooperated with the CIA on a “rat line” of arms transfers from Libyan stockpiles to the Syrian rebels in 2012 after the fall of the Gaddafi regime.
Clearly, the absurdity of sending someone to prison for doing what ministers and their security officials were up to themselves became too much. But it’s only the latest of a string of such cases. Less fortunate was a London cab driver Anis Sardar, who was given a life sentence a fortnight earlier for taking part in 2007 in resistance to the occupation of Iraq by US and British forces. Armed opposition to illegal invasion and occupation clearly doesn’t constitute terrorism or murder on most definitions, including the Geneva convention.
But terrorism is now squarely in the eye of the beholder. And nowhere is that more so than in the Middle East, where today’s terrorists are tomorrow’s fighters against tyranny – and allies are enemies – often at the bewildering whim of a western policymaker’s conference call.
For the past year, US, British and other western forces have been back in Iraq, supposedly in the cause of destroying the hyper-sectarian terror group Islamic State (formerly known as al-Qaida in Iraq). This was after Isis overran huge chunks of Iraqi and Syrian territory and proclaimed a self-styled Islamic caliphate.
The campaign isn’t going well. Last month, Isis rolled into the Iraqi city of Ramadi, while on the other side of the now nonexistent border its forces conquered the Syrian town of Palmyra. Al-Qaida’s official franchise, the Nusra Front, has also been making gains in Syria.
Some Iraqis complain that the US sat on its hands while all this was going on. The Americans insist they are trying to avoid civilian casualties, and claim significant successes. Privately, officials say they don’t want to be seen hammering Sunni strongholds in a sectarian war and risk upsetting their Sunni allies in the Gulf.
Now the truth emerges: how the US fuelled the rise of Isis in Syria and Iraq
Seumas Milne
The sectarian terror group won’t be defeated by the western states that incubated it in the first place
Contact author
Wednesday 3 June 2015 15.56 EDT Last modified on Friday 7 April 2017 19.05 EDT
The war on terror, that campaign without end launched 14 years ago by George Bush, is tying itself up in ever more grotesque contortions. On Monday the trial in London of a Swedish man, Bherlin Gildo, accused of terrorism in Syria, collapsed after it became clear British intelligence had been arming the same rebel groups the defendant was charged with supporting.
The prosecution abandoned the case, apparently to avoid embarrassing the intelligence services. The defence argued that going ahead with the trial would have been an “affront to justice” when there was plenty of evidence the British state was itself providing “extensive support” to the armed Syrian opposition.
That didn’t only include the “non-lethal assistance” boasted of by the government (including body armour and military vehicles), but training, logistical support and the secret supply of “arms on a massive scale”. Reports were cited that MI6 had cooperated with the CIA on a “rat line” of arms transfers from Libyan stockpiles to the Syrian rebels in 2012 after the fall of the Gaddafi regime.
Clearly, the absurdity of sending someone to prison for doing what ministers and their security officials were up to themselves became too much. But it’s only the latest of a string of such cases. Less fortunate was a London cab driver Anis Sardar, who was given a life sentence a fortnight earlier for taking part in 2007 in resistance to the occupation of Iraq by US and British forces. Armed opposition to illegal invasion and occupation clearly doesn’t constitute terrorism or murder on most definitions, including the Geneva convention.
But terrorism is now squarely in the eye of the beholder. And nowhere is that more so than in the Middle East, where today’s terrorists are tomorrow’s fighters against tyranny – and allies are enemies – often at the bewildering whim of a western policymaker’s conference call.
For the past year, US, British and other western forces have been back in Iraq, supposedly in the cause of destroying the hyper-sectarian terror group Islamic State (formerly known as al-Qaida in Iraq). This was after Isis overran huge chunks of Iraqi and Syrian territory and proclaimed a self-styled Islamic caliphate.
The campaign isn’t going well. Last month, Isis rolled into the Iraqi city of Ramadi, while on the other side of the now nonexistent border its forces conquered the Syrian town of Palmyra. Al-Qaida’s official franchise, the Nusra Front, has also been making gains in Syria.
Some Iraqis complain that the US sat on its hands while all this was going on. The Americans insist they are trying to avoid civilian casualties, and claim significant successes. Privately, officials say they don’t want to be seen hammering Sunni strongholds in a sectarian war and risk upsetting their Sunni allies in the Gulf.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/03/us-isis-syria-iraq
كَمَثَلِ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ قَرِيبًا ذَاقُوا وَبَالَ أَمْرِهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ {15
059:015
:
They are like their immediate predecessors, they tasted the evil result of their conduct, and (in the Hereafter, there is) for them a painful torment;-
كَمَثَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِذْ قَالَ لِلْإِنسَانِ اكْفُرْ فَلَمَّا كَفَرَ قَالَ إِنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِّنكَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللَّهَ رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ {16
059:016
:
(Their allies deceived them) like Shaitan (Satan), when he says to man: "reject and be ungrateful to Allah." But when (man) rejects Allah, Shaitan (Satan) says: "I am free of you, I fear Allah, the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)!------------------------
