Arab Officials Warn U.S. of Giving ISIS a Propaganda Win

Questions persist about whether the Iraqi military will 
be ready for the operation to retake Mosul in a few 
months. Above, a Danish trainer works with an
 Iraqi army trainee, 2nd from left. -AP

It’s not only important when the Islamic State is pushed out of the Iraqi city of Mosul but by who, according to U.S. and Arab officials.

Planning between the Pentagon, Iraqi government and Kurdish Peshmerga forces to retake Mosul, a million-person city in western Iraq, is intensifying. Some U.S. officials have said a major air and ground offensive on Mosul could begin as early as April. But a number of Arab officials are warning the Obama administration that this campaign, even if successful, risks aiding Islamic State in its propaganda war against the U.S. and its Middle East allies if Sunni soldiers don’t play a major role in liberating Mosul.

Members of Iraq shia militia supported by Iran

These officials believe the Mosul assault will largely be led by Iraqi Shiite militias, rather than regular Iraqi army troops, backed by U.S. airpower. Many of these Shiite bodies, including the Badr Organization and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, or “League of the Righteous,” receive significant arms and funding from Iran, according to U.S and Arab officials. Iran’s elite overseas military unit, the Qods Force, is also training and advising these Shiite allies.

The Sunni Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS or ISIL, would use a defeat in Mosul to try and rally co-religionists in Iraq and Syria–and across the region–to fight back against what they’ll argue is a growing effort by Tehran and its Shiite allies to grab Arab lands.

“If Mosul is liberated with American air power and Shiite militias, this will give ISIS a major propaganda win,” said a senior Arab official whose country is aligned with the U.S. in fighting Islamic State.

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