1228: Entire region judges US responses to Iraqi rocketing from Iran. Michael Rubin, @mrubin1971, Malcolm Hoenlein, @conf_of_pres
Image: MILLINGEN(1870) Wild life among the Koords Michael Rubin,@mrubin1971,and Malcolm Hoenlein, @conf_of_pres, Conference of Presidents, in re: Administration's KSA posture, the increase of rocket attacks in Iraq, Turkey’s tensions with Iraqi PKK, and the implications of the removal of Houthis from the FTO list. Kurdistan, rocket attack. US has forces there, and our bases are co-located with Iraqi Kurds. Rockets often hit as many Kurds as Americans. Everyone in the region is looking at US reactions as a test of Biden’s intentions and abilities. If you push back hard, enemies take you more seriously. If you turn the other cheek, you convince hardline elements to push harder to get more concessions. Iraq faces the resurgence of the Islamic State and of Iranian attacks. Al Q and ISIS members are living on farms, do hit-and-run attacks; whereas Iranian agents are guys in business suits in the bureaucracy. “How can we take on Iranian-backed militias unless you give is the arms and [help]?” US withdrawing all forces east of the Suez Canal? Regional states start to look for new alliances; US is throwing out the baby with the bath water. Israel runs more German subs than Germany does. The three components of nuclear capability are: Warheads, enrichment and delivery system. JCPOA didn’t constrain delivery but actually released pressure on Iran. Iran has trouble recruiting Iranians for some proxy fights, so have hired Afghans, Syrians, and others. Michael Rubin is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, where he specializes in Iran, Turkey, and the broader Middle East. He also regularly teaches classes at sea about Middle East conflicts, culture, terrorism, and the Horn of Africa to deployed US Navy and Marine units. https://www.aei.org/op-eds/iraqi-kurdistan-has-a-leadership-problem/ https://www.aei.org/op-eds/kurds-are-more-deserving-of-terror-delisting-than-houthis/