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Turkey, Saudi Arabia undermining Iraq’s anti-Daesh fight: Analyst

Saturday, 15 October 2016 2:47 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 15 October 2016 2:49 PM ]

Pro-government forces drive in military vehicles in Iraq's eastern Salaheddin province, on October 10, 2016, as they clear the area in preparation for the push to retake the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. (Photo by AFP)

Turkey and Saudi Arabia have undermined the fight against the Daesh Takfiri terror group in Iraq by supporting the terrorists with weapons, money and logistical support for a long time, says an analyst.

“The situation that Iraq finds itself in today is diabolical. On the one hand Iraq is trying to free itself of the cancer that is ISIS (Daesh). On the other hand however, that fight against ISIS is being undermined by both Turkey and Saudi Arabia,” Marcus Papadopoulos, publisher and editor of Politics First told Press TV.

He also noted the United States and Saudi Arabia are making plans for Daesh terrorists to withdraw from the Iraqi city of Mosul and to go into Syria, adding that the role of the Turkish army could be to allow safe passage to them.

Ankara sent troops northeast of Mosul last year in a move which Iraq considers a “blatant violation” of its sovereignty.

Baghdad has, time and again, called on Ankara to pull out the forces, while specifically warning against Turkish troops’ involvement in the upcoming battle for the liberation of Mosul, which it says they would only complicate.

The Iraqi army is gearing up for a major offensive to purge Daesh from Mosul. Iraqi forces have managed to wrest control of several areas from terrorists in the southern parts of the city.

The analyst also stated the Americans and the Saudis need the Daesh terrorists in Syria to try and disrupt the Syrian army’s campaign of liberating the strategic northwestern city of Aleppo.

He went on to say the reason why the West is so concerned about Aleppo is that its liberation could be a “turning point” both politically and militarily.

Papadopoulos further argued if the Daesh terrorists in Mosul can leave the city and enter Syria and go to Aleppo under Turkish cover, then that could be in theory a “threat” to the Syrian army.

“The West and its regional allies - Turkey and Saudi Arabia - they need as many forces as possible to try and disrupt the Syrian army’s campaign in Aleppo and [they do] that by playing one of their trump cards which of course is ISIS (Daesh),” he said.

According to the analyst, both Syria and Iraq are fighting the scourge of terrorism which threatens not just the Middle East but the entire world and yet big players in the world –namely the United States, Britain, Turkey and Saudi Arabia - are doing their utmost to try and derail the campaign of neutralizing this terrible threat.

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