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Theliberation of Mosul and the wider Ninevah province from the Islamic State group (ISIS) and its brutal Salafist jihadi doctrine is the subject of many Iraqi conversations. To capitalize on the lessons learned from the bloody three-year battle, Iraqis must take stock of thepolitical process.

Liberation is not a solution in itself and fundamental questions need to be asked: Do Iraqis want a united or divided country (in everything but name)? What is better, a federal system or a confederation? Should there be a state dominated by the center or decentralized provinces with new and broad powers?

Was ISIS occupation of large swaths of Iraqi territory a sufficient warningof the fragility of the country's political system, governance and social cohesion? Or do Iraqis (God forbid) need another horrific wake up call that will lead to the end of Iraq as we know it? Can one say with confidence that Iraqi parties have failed to learn from the lessons of the crisis? Different factions have used the state to service their own narrow interests, taking advantage of the chaos when Iraq faced its greatest existential crisis.

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What are the doses of antibiotics required in the Iraqi body so that terrorism departs for good? This is an urgent question that all Iraqis need to answer. We shouldnt forget that when the liberation of Mosul is complete, the eyes of the international coalition will turn west towards Syria. Iraq is not immune from what is taking place next door. The government, NGOs and the international community must create a new environment in the liberated areas for social justice and work on a new formula for coexistence.

Despite all these challenges, Iraqis have shown the rest of the world that they have the strength of character to develop the countrys social and political fabric. Once Iraq has addressed the grand questions of rule of law, governance, revenue distribution and identity,the focus must then shift to defining a new political culture in Iraq and creating a roadmap for a confederation with the Kurdistan Regional Government, the most viable formula for coexistence with the Kurds.

Read more: The final push for Mosul: 'Matter of time' until ISIS flag falls

Decentralization has to be accelerated, corruption addressed, a population census--long overdue--must be conducted for country-wide planning. Finally, missing legislationmust be voted for, including the long-awaited oil law. It wont be easy, but these are urgent and important moves for the people and future of Iraq.

Governing Iraq after liberation will be the real acid test of Iraqi leadership, especially with the recognition that the state is being weakened from within. The liberation of Mosul must be the start of the nations recovery, otherwise, warlords, camouflaged by different names and fronts, will prevail.

It is important to remember that the presence of ISIS militants in Mosul created a new generation of young supporters, here it is necessary to admit that a new mutation of the group will be no less evil and acts of terrorism will continue, as we saw in the recent bombing attack at the Karada ice cream parlor. The threat has the potential to move inside cities, as well as some areas that remain outside the states authority. Let us not allow the liberation of Mosul be a stop-gap before the next wave of extremism.

Leaders must lead, and not be led.

Lukman Faily was the Iraqi Ambassador to the United States between 2013 and 2016. He also served as Iraqs Ambassador to Japan from 2010 to 2013.

Originally posted here:
The Looming Defeat of ISIS in Mosul Puts Iraq At A Crossroads - Newsweek

Iran has voiced its opposition to a decision by Iraqs autonomous Kurdish region to hold a referendum on independence, saying the vote would lead to "new problems."

"The Kurdistan region is part of the Iraqi republic and unilateral decisions outside the national and legal framework, especially the Iraqi constitution... can only lead to new problems," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said on June 10.

Iraqi Kurdish officials said on June 7 that the region would hold a referendum on September 25, a move unlikely to be welcomed by the federal government in Baghdad.

Iran fears separatism among its own Kurds, most of whom live in areas along the border with Iraq.

Iran is home to an estimated eight million Kurds, who like other ethnic minorities in the country, do not enjoy equal rights, such as the right to the use of their languages in schools.

Rebels of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) and the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) launch sporadic attacks into Iran from rear-bases in Iraq, triggering sometimes deadly clashes with Iranian security forces.

Iraqi Kurds' planned referendum has also been criticized by Turkey, which called it a "grave mistake."

Washington also said it was opposed to the vote, saying it would be a distraction from more urgent priorities, including the fight against the extremist group Islamic State.

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Iran Criticizes Independence Vote In Iraq's Kurdistan Region - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

Iraq War veteran Pat Ryan becamethe seventh Democrat to announce he would attempt to challenge New York Republican Rep. John Faso in 2018.

Faso won an open seat in New Yorks 19th Congressional District, beating law professor and liberal activist Zephyr Teachout last year.

Ryan is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and served two tours in Iraq as an Army intelligence officer, according to the Daily Freeman.

In the Army, we put the country first, and its time for Washington to do the same, he told the newspaper.

Though Ryan is from the area, he currently lives in Brooklyn and works for a technology company, but he is searching for a residence in the district.

The district is a swing district presidentially, voting narrowly for President Donald Trump last year, but it broke for Barack Obama in 2012, according to an analysis by liberal website the Daily Kos.

The district is among a number of Trump-won districts that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting.

Faso is considered a moderate on climate changebut has faced some criticism for his vote to replace the 2010 health care law.

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Excerpt from:
Iraq War Vet Will Challenge Faso - Roll Call

Business Insider

The Latest: Iraq criticizes plan for Kurd independence vote Sacramento Bee The Latest on developments concerning Iraq (all times local):. 3:10 p.m.. The Iraqi government is criticizing the announcement by the Kurdish autonomous government that it will hold a referendum on independence in September. This week, Masoud Barzani, ... Iraq's Kurds will vote on independence, and there's 'no turning back'Business Insider Turkey Says Iraq's Kurdistan Independence Vote 'Grave Mistake'RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Iraqi government rejects Kurdish move for independenceAljazeera.com Rudaw -U.S. News & World Report all 88 news articles »

Read more:
The Latest: Iraq criticizes plan for Kurd independence vote - Sacramento Bee

The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria appears to have used white phosphorus-loaded munitions on at least two occasions in densely populated areas of Mosul and in the Islamic States de facto capital of Raqqa, according to videos posted online and human rights groups.

The often-controversial munitionsare common in western militariesand are used primarily tocreate smoke screens, though they can also be droppedas an incendiaryweapon. When a white phosphorus shell explodes, the chemical inside reacts with the air, creating a thick white cloud. When it comes in contact with flesh, it can maim and kill by burning to the bone.

While international humanitarianlaw stipulates that civiliansmustbe protected from all military operations, it also says that countries must take even more care when using white phosphorus. Additionally, becauseof the weapons ability to cause grievous and inhumane injuries,rights groupscautionagainst using white phosphorus to killenemy troopsif other weapons are available.

[U.S. forces are using white phosphorus munitions in Iraq but its unclear exactly how]

On Thursday, footage posted by the activist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently showedthe signature spread of airburst white phosphorus munitions probably M825 series 155mm artillery rounds exploding over eastern Raqqa, the same area where U.S.-backed Syrian fighters made advances earlier this week.

U.S. Army Col. Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting in Iraq and Syria, would not confirm the use of the munition but said in an email that the U.S. military uses it in accordance with the law of armed conflict and that white phosphorus rounds are used for screening, obscuring, and marking in a way that fully considers the possible incidental effects on civilians and civilian structures.

The coalition takes all reasonable precautions to minimize the risk of incidental injury to non-combatants and damage to civilian structures, he said.

The Pentagon posted photographs of Marine M777 howitzers in Syria deployed to support the Raqqa operation with a pallet of white phosphorus munitions in May. The image was taken in March, and while the unit in the photograph probably has returned to the United States, its replacement is likely using similar munitions.

Mary Wareham, the advocacy director at Human Rights Watchs arms division, said in email that the group is still trying to determine the veracity of the videos, but the munitions look similar to the ones used Saturday in the Iraqi city of Mosul. Wareham said that in Mosul it appeared that the rounds exploded close to the ground, in an attempt to minimize the footprint of the effects.

When M825 rounds explode, they jettison roughly 115 felt wedges that are impregnated with white phosphorus. If exploded high abovethe ground, the wedges can spread over a greater distance, starting fires over a wide area. InMosul, smokemunitionswere used, according to a statementby Iraqi forces, to provide cover for civilians targeted by Islamic State snipers.

While the Islamic State controls only a few remaining neighborhoods in the western part of Mosul, the small area is packed with tens of thousands of civilians, raising concerns among rights groups that the heavy fighting will kill hundreds of civilians before the fighting ends.

White phosphorus should not be air burst over populated areas due to its indiscriminate effect but its not clear from available information that civilians are in the area, Wareham said. The [Iraqi Security Forces]is claiming that it used white phosphorusto protect civilians. As such, more information is needed to determine whether the white phosphorususe here is lawful.

In Raqqa, however, the footage shows the munitions bursting relatively high off the ground over a cluster of buildings. It is unclear if Islamic State fighters are in the area, but thousands of civilians are known to be still in the city. In the days leading up to the battle in the city, U.S.-backed Syrian fighters called on civilians to evacuate prior to the offensive, but after commencing their attack, theyve now told those inside to shelter in their homesand avoid Islamic State positions.

[t Pentagon acknowledges more civilian deaths in U.S.-led air campaign against Islamic State]

A report from the casualty-monitoring group Airwars.Org indicates that this mixed messaging has created some confusion among the civilian population in the city and that despite the fighting, some are still evacuating.

The Pentagon has admitted to killing roughly 500 civilians in the nearly three-year-old war against the Islamic State. Monitoring groups, such as Airwars, say that number is extremely conservative. The U.K.-based organization claimsthat roughly 3,800 civilians have been killed by the U.S.-led coalition.

Read more:

Airstrike monitoring group overwhelmed by claims of U.S.-caused civilian casualties

Away from Iraqs front lines, the Islamic State is creeping back in

I thought, this is it: One mans escape from an Islamic State mass execution

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US-led forces appear to be using white phosphorus in populated areas in Iraq and Syria - Washington Post