MENA Week in Review -- July 25, 2014
This week, conflicts in Libya, Israel and Gaza, and Syria continued to intensify as the Obama administration weighs its options for handling these crises.
An opinion piece in al-Arabiya criticized the scope of a $500 million U.S. initiative to “train and equip” moderate elements of the Syrian opposition by arguing the “proposed U.S. aid would be almost what ISIS ran off with in its Mosul bank heist...and the 2,300 trained FSA force would be less than half the number of fighters that Hezbollah has dispatched to Syria.”
Over the course of two days, more than 700 were killed in clashes between ISIS and pro-government Syrian forces. Despite calls to support the Syrian opposition, infighting continues to spread among anti-government forces, which creates a new set of challenges when deciding which factions of the fragmented Syrian opposition will receive U.S. support.
The Obama administration’s Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund will include $1.5 billion for a Regional Stabilization Initiative, which will support training and equipping efforts for Syria’s neighbors. Jordanian Information Minister Mohammad al-Momani, one of Washington’s strongest Arab allies in the region, recently stated that the Kingdom is “not interested in training Syrian opposition forces on its territory.”
Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, suggests that the Obama administration should increase U.S. troops in Iraq, arguing that “substantial forms of military assistance may prove a significant inducement [for Iraqis] to pick a better leader.”
This week, the Obama administration increased surveillance efforts in Iraq and increased the amount of U.S. military personnel to 825.
Rep. James McGovern (D-MA), Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced legislation July 11 that would require the withdrawal of all U.S. military personnel not directly responsible for protecting U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq.
The U.S. Senate authorized $225 million in emergency funding for Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile defense system. In a letter sent to congressional leadership, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel supported the additional funding, which augments the $351 million already appropriated for Iron Dome in the fiscal year 2015 defense budget.
Competing militias continued to fight this week for control of Liby’a airport in Tripoli. Clashes spread to Benghazi, where Islamist militants attacked an army base there, including suicide attacks.
An attack on an Egyptian border post this week could be an indication that the conflict Libya is beginning to spill over to Egypt.
Tensions between Iraq and Jordan continue to rise, as bombs exploded last weekend in Baghdad, in response to a meeting of anti-Iraqi government Sunni groups in Amman.
Hundreds of Iraqi forces attempting to retake Tikrit, were killed or captured hundreds in a victory for Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham (ISIS)
The Institute for the Study of War released a warning update on Baghdad this week, suggesting that an increase in violent incidences in Baghdad could be an indication that ISIS is planning to launch a major offensive there. One such incident occurred late Tuesday night when Abu Abdul-Rahman al-Tunisi, a Tunisian fighter for ISIS, carried out a suicide bombing in a Shi’ite district of Baghdad.
ISIS continues to finance its military campaign in Iraq and Syria by selling crude oil from oil fields captured last month.
Egyptian security forces thwarted an effort by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis--a militant organization based in the Sinai--to launch rockets from Egypt into Israel. This comes after an attempt by the Sisi government in Cairo to broker a ceasefire.
Destroying a large network of smuggling tunnels under the Gaza Strip has been the primary objective of Israel’s military offensive there, Operation Protective Edge, after 13 Palestinian fighters emerged near Kibbutz Sufa. The tunnels have continued to be a primary focus of operations as eight Palestinian fighters used the tunnel system to enter Israel last weekend.
UN facilities were targets of Israeli airstrikes this week: twenty rockets were discovered at a UN-funded school in Gaza and 16 Palestinian civilians seeking shelter at a UN school in Beit Hanoun were killed.
Violence has spread to the West Bank, where protests against the Israeli offensive in Gaza turned into deadly clashes.
Following the increase in violence in Syria, the Washington Post editorial board published a piece in strong support of efforts to aid Syrian rebels, stating “if one principle seems obvious, it is that moderate forces willing to fight the Islamic State should be aided--and quickly.”
During an event at the Aspen Institute this week, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Mike Vickers commented that “the number of foreign fighters who are western passport holders, including Americans as a subset of that, numbers in the four digits. So, it’s a serious problem.”
The United Arab Emirates revised a 10-year-old counterterrorism law, making terrorism a capital offense.