In 2014, Nouri al-Maliki allowed ISIS to capture a third of Iraq. He spent several years in the political wilderness, but now he is seeking a third term as prime minister.
In early June 2014, members of the Islamic State (quickly dubbed ISIS or Daesh by most media outlets) launched an offensive in Iraq. In late 2013 and early 2014, black extremists had captured several Sunni towns north and west of Baghdad. By January 2014, Fallujah had fallen. There were reports at the time that the city had been sacked by Al Qaeda, but the fact was that ISIS was leading the charge.
In Baghdad, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki maneuvered amid the war in Iraq. Although he has an Iraqi army that he says is trained and equipped with U.S. support, it sits in its barracks with rusting equipment. U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq in 2011. They left the country led by Maliki, whom Washington considered at the time to be the best candidate for the job. He is a Shiite and a “strongman”. His “strong” hand was supposed to ensure Iraq’s security. This was days before the Iran deal, when policymakers in Washington thought it would be prudent to hand Iraq over to a pro-Iranian dictator like Maliki. It is claimed that this will soften the Iran deal and adjust U.S. policy to allow Iran to play a role throughout the region.
Maliki’s Iraq failed to stop ISIS. Today, Maliki appears to be on track to lead Iraq again. How did the man who failed to destroy Iraq make a comeback? He has been stuck in the political wilderness since 2014, slowly rebuilding his district. It’s worth recalling how he failed.
Maliki’s tinkering and fiddling and his anti-Sunni policies fueled ISIS. When the storm hit in 2013 and 2014, Maliki took advantage of the chaos in Syria during its civil war to allow Iraq to be taken over by the Islamic State. It’s unclear why he declined to take any action. Perhaps he thought it would be a good thing if Sunni cities fell into chaos, terror and ruin. In Syria, the civil war has shifted from a rebellion against Assad to being consumed by extremism. Jihadists flow into Iraq along the Euphrates River valley and through other pathways. They brought weapons from Syria and soon they had a long fleet of Toyota Hilux trucks with machine guns in the back.
ISIS captures Saddam Hussein’s hometown
In June, the “Islamic State” captured Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit. They also sacked Mosul between June 4 and 10, forcing two Iraqi divisions to flee. The Iraqis gave up most of their equipment, leaving behind a large number of American-made Humvees and heavy weapons for the Islamic State. On June 12, ISIS stormed Camp Spike, a training camp for Iraqi military cadets. They succeeded in capturing more than 5,000 Iraqi cadets. Camp Spike is located about 100 miles north of Baghdad. It was a Saddam-era base and was used by the Americans during the U.S. war in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. Sunni jihadists in the Islamic State celebrated as they regained Saddam-era positions, a symbol of what they saw as a resurgence of hegemony.
A soldier wearing an ISIS uniform prepares ammunition. (Source: SHUTTERSTOCK)
At Camp Spike, ISIS showed the world its genocidal nature. It massacred Shiite trainees, killing thousands. Blood flows into streams and fields. Islamic State posted the video online. They are very proud. The videos inspired 50,000 people around the world to start flocking to ISIS flags.
While all this was happening, Iraqi leader Maliki took little action. The task of defending Iraq fell to Ali Sistani, an aging cleric who lived in a small apartment in the Shia holy city of Najaf. Within hours of the June 12 massacre at Camp Spike, the cleric issued a religious fatwa, or fatwa, urging Iraqis to take up arms. Anyone who can handle a gun should be on the front lines. It was later reported that Sistani saved Iraq.
Sistani’s fatwa fills Iraq’s defense ranks. But most young Shiite men from southern Iraq must undergo training, and they don’t have armored units, helicopters or tanks. All these resources were wasted by Maliki.
Throughout the hot summer, Iraq continued to burn. In the Kurdistan region of Iraq, an emergency meeting was held between the Kurdish leader of Masoud Barzani and his Kurdistan Democratic Party and another Kurdish faction, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. KDP and PUK discussed the best ways to deal with ISIS. PUK members later claimed they urged an offensive against the Islamic State. Barzani was more cautious. PUK leader Jalal Talibani is receiving medical treatment in Germany. Barzani’s top officials, his relatives Nechivan and Masrour, are responsible for organizing the future affairs of the autonomous Kurdish region.
In early August, as the Kurds in Baghdad and Erbil were unable to decide how to respond to the looming threat, the Islamic State crossed the border with Sinjar in northern Iraq and attacked Yazidi villages in the plains below Mount Sinjar. Hundreds of thousands of Yazidis fled, some into the mountains above their villages. Thousands were taken prisoner, and the Islamic State began murdering men and elderly women and selling young women into slavery. As the Yazidis suffer genocide, Iraq’s president asks the deputy speaker of parliament to form a new government. Haider al-Abadi succeeded the failed Maliki.
It was too late to save many Iraqis. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds are now taking to the front lines to join the Peshmerga, the Kurdistan region’s armed forces, which are losing ground to the Islamic State (ISIS). Hundreds of thousands of Shiite men are heading to the front lines near Baghdad as many believe the capital could fall to Islamic State. Ultimately, the defense did hold. Islamic State was intercepted on its way to Erbil and Dohuk in northern Iraq, and was intercepted at the gates of Baghdad. Maliki is gone.
Now, Rudaw media says Maliki may return. “Iraq’s ruling Shia Coordination Framework on Saturday announced former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as its candidate for prime minister, according to a January 25 report. “The largest bloc in parliament said after a meeting that it would ‘by majority decision’ nominate Maliki as its candidate for prime minister based on his political and administrative experience and his role in running the country.” If he gets the votes, he could now rule for a third time. His Law and Order Party holds only 29 seats in the 320-seat parliament. Yet, a master manipulator, he appears to be seeking the top job.
