Rescue Iraq

Let the Nations Tremble!

Just in the past week, the news has declared of earthquakes, nuclear weapons, invasions, subversive paramilitary forces, bombings, attacks, retreats, protests, and killings all within a few hundred miles of us, in some cases just over the next mountain range.

But, more than three weeks back as I was waiting on the Lord, I felt Him speak to my spirit:

"My son there are difficulties yet ahead, but I will be with you, and give you peace. Look not to the right or to the left, focus your attention on Me. You have but 3 months remaining in this year -- world events will terrify you, but hold firm and remember I am your rock upon which you stand. Pursue Me, love me, find me through your faithful devotion to My word. Speak with Me, walk with Me, and you will live -- Fear not for I am with you. Do not give up hope!"

And now, as world events are quite terrifying for one living in this place God has called us to, I feel forced to recall His words and press in like never before.

Reading the Bible this morning I was reminded of who ought to tremble in this world. Psalm 99 boldly declares, "The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble."

When everything around us seems to be falling apart, when even the ground beneath our feet becomes untrustworthy, there is still no need to tremble. God is on His throne!

He has declared that He has given us of His Spirit, that same Spirit that has nothing to do with timidity, but everything to do with Power, Love, and a Sound Mind. This is the reality.

That we are seated with Christ in the Heavenlies and no weapon formed against us shall prosper.

Yes, we declare with the Psalmist, "Let the nations tremble" our souls are at peace!

Thanks for praying for us in these days especially as I believe the outward display of events (at least as the media report it) is only going to get worse.

But, know that no matter what the media declares or how dismal the outlook, God is still on His throne, actively involved in the affairs of men, and using every circumstance, no matter how terrible, for His glory.

There's a God side of the story that rarely gets read. I hope that through our work here, you come to see and have already seen that even in the "valley of the shadow of death" He still works miracles, He still brings salvation, and He still reigns on high!

It does not mean that hardships won't come, but that we never have need to tremble -- that's for the nations to do. Stand with us as we seek to bring peace, to share His light and His truth, and to stand up for the rights of the oppressed, in a land so raked with war and division -- the very intersection point of Turks, Kurds, and Iranians here in Northern Iraq.

Turkey and Iran to co-operate against Kurdish rebels

Last week, I watched the Turkish news as they revealed with grandour at the Turkish military's incursion into Northern Iraq. They are bent on revenge for the deaths of 24 of their compatriots, most of them simple conscripts. A bad move by the PKK whose stated purpose is to bring more freedoms for their countrymen living in Turkey.

Now, not just Turkey but Iran also has agreed to lend her strength to squelch this fledgling but tenacious Kurdish brotherhood, with the United States, NATO, and the UN offering their support as well.

Of course, this has been going on for some time, but now with public opinion strongly in their favor they are able to declare it openly.

Read on. FiratNews Photo

Aljazeera Reports: "Turkey and Iran to co-operate against PKK"

Foreign ministers of two coountries join hands against Kurdish fighters as Turkey resumes offensive for second day

Turkey and Iran have vowed to collaborate in their fight against Kurdish fighters, as thousands of Turkish troops resumed their air and ground offensive against the armed groups in northern Iraq for a second day.

The foreign ministers of the two countries announced plans to co-operate against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its Iranian wing, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) during a joint news conference held in Ankara on Friday.

"From now on, we will work together in a joint action plan until this terrorist threat is totally eliminated," Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said.

Ali Akbar Salehi, the Iranian foreign minister, said he will seek more co-operation with Turkey against the fighters near their shared border. He said the PKK and PJAK were "common problems" for both countries.

Davutoglu’s statement came as Turkish jets kept up bombing raids on Kurdish fighter bases, taking off from Diyarbakir, the regional capital of the mainly Kurdish southeast.

The Turkish army has said that "while the majority of the land and air operations are in the Cukurca region [in Turkey], ground and air strikes are ongoing in a few points in northern Iraq across the border".

A small group of specially trained Turkish troops crossed into Iraq from the villages of Yekmal and Bilecan on the Turkish side of the border and entered the Dola Sulo region in Haftanin, the Kurdish news agency Firatnews quoted sources from the PKK as saying.

Attacks 'avoidable'

In the meeting with Davutoglu, Salehi said that the deaths of Turkish soldiers might have been avoided if the US had informed Turkey that the fighters were infiltrating into the country with heavy weaponry.

The US shares intelligence from surveillance drones with Turkey about movement of Kurdish rebels along the border.

Tehran has been carrying out a major offensive against PJAK since July, which Turkey considers a branch of the PKK.

Both armed groups, labeled as terrorist organisations by much of the international community, have been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in their respective countries.

On Thursday, the Turkish army initiated "a large-scale land operation" with 22 battalions against the fighters in five separate spots inside and across the border, according to the general staff.

Around 10,000 soldiers took part in the operation that began in reaction to the killing of 24 Turkish soldiers by the armed group. Around 6,000 of them were Special Forces, the Turkish daily Sabah said.

Meanwhile, Nechirvan Barzani, a former prime minister of the Kurdish regional government, who paid a surprise visit to Ankara on Thursday, said after meeting with the Turkish foreign minister: "We strongly condemn this attack."

The PKK took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.

 

Reuters Report: Iran could make atom bomb material despite hurdles

(Reuters) - Iran's nuclear program is struggling with low-performing enrichment machines but it would still be able to produce material that could be used for atomic bombs, according to a U.S. think tank.

In a report coinciding with rising tension between Iran and the West, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) also said tougher sanctions could make it more difficult for the Islamic state to obtain key parts for its uranium enrichment work.

Enriched uranium -- produced by spinning centrifuges at supersonic speeds to increase the fissile isotope ratio -- can be used to fuel power plants or for the core of a nuclear missile if processed much further.

The ISIS report's findings, published late on Monday, dovetail with Western allegations that Iran's nuclear enrichment program makes little sense from a commercial point of view and that it is part of a covert bid to develop an atomic bomb capability.

Iran says it needs to refine uranium for a planned network of nuclear power plants. Its only existing plant, at Bushehr, was built by Russia and is fueled by Russian enriched uranium.

ISIS said Iran's main enrichment complex at Natanz "is unlikely to ever produce enough LEU (low-enriched uranium) for a nuclear power reactor the size of" Bushehr.

Western experts say tightening sanctions, technical hurdles and possible cyber sabotage have slowed Iran's atomic advances.

But it is still amassing LEU and the experts say it now has enough to make at least two bombs if refined much more, should it decide to. Iran denies seeking to develop nuclear arms.

For years, Tehran has been seeking to replace the breakdown-prone 1970s vintage IR-1 model of centrifuge it now uses to refine uranium, but the changeover has been hampered by sanctions restricting access to vital parts, analysts say.

ISIS said the average monthly production of LEU had risen but that the number of centrifuges had grown disproportionately.

"During the past year, the performance of the IR-1 centrifuges ... has faltered," ISIS said. Iran is also facing a shortage of crucial material called maraging steel, "sharply limiting the number of IR-1 centrifuges it can make."

In September, a U.N. nuclear watchdog report said Iran had begun installing two newer versions for larger-scale testing.

Such machines would allow Iran to produce refined uranium much faster -- potentially also reducing the time needed to make weapons-grade material -- but analysts say it remains unclear whether it can build them in sufficient numbers.

Iran's decision in early 2010 to raise the level of some enrichment from the 3.5 percent purity needed for normal power plant fuel to 20 percent worried Western states that saw this as a significant step toward the 90 percent needed for bombs.

Iran says it will use 20 percent uranium to fuel a Tehran research reactor making isotopes to treat cancer patients.

"Is the Iranian enrichment program on a trajectory toward being dedicated to producing weapon-grade uranium for nuclear weapons?" ISIS asked and replied: "Unfortunately, despite its severe limitations, this program is able to do so."

(Reporting by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Karolina Tagaris)

 

US pullback to leave 30,000 Iranian Al Qods fighters sitting in Iraq

DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis October 23, 2011 -

Ten days have gone by since President Barack Obama accused Iran of instigating a foiled plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington last April. Yet neither the US nor Saudi Arabia has done anything about it – even at the UN.

Friday, Oct. 21, Obama reaffirmed that all US soldiers will be brought home from Iraq by the end of the year. Two days later, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged in Tajikistan: "To countries in the region, especially Iraq's neighbors, we want to emphasize that American will stand with our allies and friends, including Iraq, in defense of our common security and interests."

She spoke as the Obama administration was preparing to pull out of Iraq, leaving in Baghdad a government and national army incapable of defending the country against widening cycles of terror, headed by a prime minister under Tehran's thumb and more than 30,000 armed members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' terrorist arm, al Qods Brigades, deployed there.
Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is so completely in thrall to Iran that he was afraid to accede to Washington's insistent demand for immunity to be extended to at least 5,000 US soldiers remaining in Iraq, although left on his own he would have been inclined to do so.
The eight-year US military presence in Iraq ends therefore leaving Iran sitting pretty on its two key strategic goals:

1. The exit of American soldiers, whose presence in Iraq since the 2003 invasion was deemed in Tehran a continuous threat to its borders. US military involvement in Afghanistan is seen in the same light.

2.  A weak Shiite-led government in place in Baghdad, heavily dependent on Tehran's will. Torn by strife among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, Iraq is in no state to obstruct Iran's hegemonic plans for the Persian Gulf and Syria.

The Iranian regime's right hand for achieving those goals was – and is - Al Qods commander Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the man also accused by Washington of masterminding the assassination plot.

Washington is well aware of Soleimani's capacity for interfering with American interests. Indeed he crows about it.

Last July, US sources leaked a message he posted in 2008 to Gen. David Petraeus, then head of US Central Command and now CIA Director: "General Petraeus, you should know that I, Qassem Suleimani, control the policy for Iran with respect to Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and Afghanistan. And indeed, the ambassador in Baghdad is a Quds Force member. The individual who's going to replace him is a Quds Force member."

He was flaunting his control of Baghdad at American expense.
Since then, he has expanded this control, DEBKAfile's military sources report, by injecting 30,000 al Qods fighting personnel into Iraq, all trained in guerrilla tactics to the standards of Western and Middle East elite units.

At least half are deployed in Baghdad in the guise of bodyguard units Iraqi government members and political figures have hired from local firms. Most of the Shiite figures in government and parliament are now using al Qods details for protection. This makes the easily vulnerably to manipulation from Tehran.

Today, Al Qods has the run of Baghdad's Green Zone, the top-security enclave built a cost of billions of American dollars to keep the US embassy and high commands in Iraq and its seat of government safe from terrorist bombs.
After the US military drawdown in just over two months, the 16,000 US embassy staffers remain in the Green Zone, including 5,000 security officers from civilian contractors.

They will stand eyeball to eyeball with a like number of al Qods operatives defending the pro-Iranian Iraqi government. It is on this jarring note that America is about to end its war in Iraq. 

 

Making the Papers

On a recent visit to the Mayor's village up in the mountains, I met the editor of a popular newspaper here in Kurdistan, called BAS News. It's a pretty popular weekly that features color pages and the typical advertising inset.

Since we were all dressed out in our Kurdish clothes, the editor insisted on taking a photo of us. The boys weren't so pleased, however, but we acquiesed.

Then, the very next day a reporter from the newspaper showed up at our door to get the 'full' story. It was published just two days later, in full color.

Here's a look:

 Download BAS News article

My Kurdish friends say it is flattering in it's tone, so not to worry. : )

Land Mines

"...8,000 people have been handicapped by land mines and 6,000 killed. In addition, 18 members of mine clearance teams have lost their lives and more than 60 have been injured." reports Rudaw

The land mine crisis in Iraq rarely gets the attention of the media, however, in the past week, I've noticed two articles about it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15070811

http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/4001.html

In our region, it is said that a land mine is detonated every week, by either a passing sheep  
or, in the worst case, a human being.

Most of the mines were placed over 30 years ago during the Iran - Iraq war, but they are still here today just as deadly as when they were buried beneath the earth.

On a climb to a peak overlooking our valley, we came across several of these signs, unfortunately, we were starring at the backs of them. We had just walked through a marked mine field. Fortunately, no one missed a step.

When I look into the mountains of our region, my heart just craves to conquer these beautiful, majestic peaks. Some of them we have climbed with careful guides, but many will just have to remain unconquered.

For the Kurds who say that they "have no friends, but the mountains," this is a bitter reality indeed, living entrapped and somehow sheltered at the same time by a deadly beauty.

Disturbing Developments

Well, if you haven't been disturbed enough about the recent news of Iranian shelling in our area, I thought I'd uncover some further news that makes this scene all but alarming.

First of all, I wanted to show what these mortar shells can actually do. As we were leaving the village, just on the outskirts as were heading back down into the valley, we came across this telephone pole clearly struck by the recent shelling. Our security excort confirmed our fears.

Notice how it just explodes out the back.

 Shrapnel's only purpose is to maim and kill life. These are the weapons Iran is using on these bystanders in a 'war' they care nothing about.

Doing a little sleuthing I discovered that a 120mm mortar's maximum range is just 4.5 miles (someone correct me if I'm wrong), and this village stands at the very least 10 miles from the border of Iran.

Honestly, though, my hunch would be that a smaller caliber mortar was used in the neighborhood of 60mm, greatly reducing it's range. You can see that the impacts to the ground are slight but obviously devastating to anyone standing within 10-20 yards.

 This is the impact believed to have killed the mother of 5 two weeks ago.

So, all this means, that even if the larger mortar was used, the Iranian soliders would have had to transgress the Iraqi border by at least 6 miles before lauching their shells on this village. I've posted a map of our area here to give a visual picture of the region:

 The highlighted village named, Kolit is where the recent shelling took place. As you can see it's not very close to the Iranian border at all. [the red dots by the way are mine fields left by Saddam, the PKK, and Iranian forces] Remember, Kolit is not the only village that has been evacuated, 6 other villages in this area have as well.

Further disturbing is the report from the villagers that they could actually see the flashes of the mortars as they were launched from the tops of the mountains overlooking their valley.

This was a close range affair. Iran, for all intents and purposes, had a visual on this village - they weren't just aiming blindly.

When I asked my security detail about heading up the valley to see another village that had been bombed, he said, that he couldn't take me there. We were welcome to go ourselves, but he would not take a step further.

Clearly, Iran has not only transgressed the border region to shell these innocent bystanders, but encamped within Iraq proper.

A recent article explains why: http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/3976.html

Iran recently gave the Kurdish Regional Government an ultimatum to deal with the PKK and PJAK elements within their borders or they will themselves. That was last week, but they've already begun to take things into their own hands.

In coordination with these strikes within the heartland of Iraqi-Kurdistan, is Turkey's air force that has bombed our region repeatedly in the past 2-3 months. Just last month a family of 7 driving through the region and was hit by a rocket killing all of them. And this week another rocket struck a truck driver killing him, not 15 miles from where we live here in Northern Iraq.

The crazy thing is, is that everyone here knows that the PKK, PJAK do not have vehicles. So, why are they striking cars and trucks?

Listen, is that more jets we hear?

Tragedy in the Village, Part 2

As we headed out of the village, the image of the old man's face with tears in his eyes kept coming back to me. I've seen few men older than him. The lines on his face seem to tell of hardships that I could never understand or comprehend. And now, he was moving again. How many times has he fled Iran's shelling or Saddam's troops, or Turkey's warplanes?

The vacated village is just one of seven that have recently become uninhabitable in our region. How many more will follow?

Keeping our eyes peeled on the road ahead we came across a couple men that told us they were part of the larger family that recently lost the woman with 5 children. We followed them another few kilometers, then cut off sharply into a canyon with a stream running besides a half a dozen tents.

Parking the car I looked up to see the man that had lost his wife just 10 days prior. I got out and shook his hand as warmly as I could.

He ushered me over to a large tent where we learned first-hand what had happened that night.

Here's more of that story:

 

  Saying 'Goodbye' - at least for now.

Tragedy in the Village, Part 1

Two weeks ago in a small Iraqi Kurdish village just 12 ½ miles from the border of Iran, a rain of mortar shells began falling all around. A mother of 35 years with 5 small children ran for shelter in her fright and was struck in the head and shoulder with shrapnel along a path between two houses. She would later die of her wounds that night.

I went to hear the story of this tragedy first hand last week with a good friend of mine who agreed to take some photos and video of our time. We had no idea what to expect, we just decided to go.

The Mayor of our community called ahead to the nearest town, called Sidikhan, and set us up with a security guard and an interpreter to help us along the way.

As we exited the town north, we immediately hit a gravel road that continued higher and higher up into the mountains, further in towards the borders with Iran and Turkey.

The drive was beautiful and we used the time to get acquainted with our new interpreter. He told us stories of how he had served in the army years back in these same mountains has they fought conflicts with the PKK. Pointing to one mountain he said, “my buddy was marching just in front of me along a trail there when he stepped on a mine… there was barely anything left of him below his waist.”

As we neared the village where the woman had died, we stopped to talk with a local man who pointed to a cache of belongings on the other side of the road. He said, “Look there, that is all that remains of the people’s prized possessions, and they will take those out today.”

The village had entirely evacuated except the owners of that last bundle of possessions lying on the side of the road.

This was a story I wasn’t quite prepared for, but knew I had to hear.

 

Turkish Jets Bomb Iraqi Kurdish Villages

In an attempt to get back at PKK Kurdish forces that dwell along the Iran Iraq border for yesterday's raid, Turkey has begun yet another bombing campaign in our region where they call home.

Last night we could hear the jets flying overhead, and again I stand in wonderment at this grand assault on Iraqi's lonely mountains that house a reckless band of disgruntled brothers, not 3,000 strong, but threaten the peaceful sleep of Turkey's powerful 1,000,000 man army.

Here's the article as reported by Turkey's English newspaper, Hurriyet Daily News:

Turkish jets bomb PKK bases in Iraq

"Turkish jets launched air raids on suspected bases belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq on Wednesday, Turkish media reported.

The raids came hours after eight soldiers and a village guard were killed in an ambush by PKK members.

Some 15 warplanes took off from a Turkish base to strike at bases which the PKK use as a springboard to attack targets inside Turkey, according to a report on the NTV news channel.

CNNTürk television said Turkish F-16s were involved in the raids.

Pro-PKK Firat news agency said the Turkish jets were also targeting Qandil, a mountain on the Iraqi-Iranian border, where the PKK leaders are believed to be hiding.

The Turkish reports were based on unidentified sources and there was no immediate official confirmation of the strikes.

If confirmed, the raids would be Turkey's first cross border offensive since last summer, when Turkish warplanes carried out a series of retaliatory air raids on suspected PKK hideouts across the border.

Turkish officials warned of a major offensive against the PKK following the ambush on a military convoy near the border with Iraq, that killed eight soldiers and a village guard working with them.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said armored personnel carriers in the convoy came under rocket fire after being attacked with roadside bombs.

Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz vowed tough response immediately after the attack, as the military launched an air and ground offensive in the largely Kurdish Hakkari province where the attack happened, Turkey's state television reported.

"The retaliation they will find will be manifold stronger," Yılmaz said.

Earlier this week, Erdoğan said Turkey is at the end of its tether and hinted toward a strong offensive after the end of the holy month of Ramadan. But Wednesday's attack appears to have forced Turkey to bring plans forward.

Asked earlier Wednesday about the possibility of a cross-border offensive, Erdoğan replied: "These things are not talked about, they are done."

PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union."