Al Qaeda Moves Into Iraq

　　The creation of a self-proclaimed state further complicates the region

　　Al Qaeda’s presence did not exist in Iraq prior to the war. It was the United States， which invaded and occupied Iraq from 2003 to 2011， that allowed Al Qaeda’s penetration into the country

　　Terrorism gained a new foothold early this year. On January 3， the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant， an insurgent organization established by Al Qaeda’s Iraq branch and the National Salvation Front in Syria—a Syrian opposition group—declared the creation of the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” in Fallujah. The terrorist organization made the announcement after occupying the city near Iraq’s capital of Baghdad. Al Qaeda took down and set fire to Iraq’s national flags throughout the city， replacing them with those of Al Qaeda.

　　The terrorist organization’s activities not only caused major problems for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and his administration， but also heightened tensions in the greater Middle Eastern region.

　　Legacy of the Iraq War

　　Anbar Province， where Fallujah is located， used to be a province under Sunni control. The Sunnis launched a series of fierce protests in 2013 against Maliki’s exclusion of the Sunni group from the policy-making core of the country.

　　Al Qaeda establishing a self-proclaimed state in Fallujah was instigated by the Iraqi Government’s ruthless repression of the Sunnis and the escalation of sectarian conflicts.

　　On December 30， 2013， Iraqi security forces swept a large anti-government demonstration camp near another Anbar city， Ramadi， leading to clashes with anti-government demonstrators and tribal militants. The conflicts rapidly expanded to other places in Anbar Province. Prime Minister Maliki declared the pullout of security forces to ease tension in the province the next day.

　　On the first day of 2014， Sunni tribal forces began to take over cities including Ramadi and Fallujah， but Al Qaeda militants took advantage of the disorder and infiltrated the cities at the same time. They stormed and occupied police offices， released prisoners and fought against Sunni tribal forces. Maliki cancelled the decision to pull out of Anbar that night， and dispatched more troops to the cities instead. In the following days， Iraqi security and Sunni tribal forces joined together to fight against Al Qaeda in the streets of Fallujah and Ramadi.

　　The root to this conflict is the severe distrust between the Sunnis and the Shiites in Iraq. The Shiite-controlled Central Government adopted policies against the Sunnis， which triggered revolt. Maliki’s administration carried out repression against the Sunnis after it failed to realize ethnic and sectarian reconciliation. In the meantime， Al Qaeda took advantage of the crisis， pushing tensions to a higher level.

　　The Iraq War， which was launched by the United States on the basis of false intelligence 11 years ago， led to consequences such as sectarian conflicts and Al Qaeda’s terrorist activities. The major conflict in the country after the war has been over power sharing between Shiites and Sunnis. Since Al Qaeda established a self-proclaimed state in Fallujah， Iraq’s situation has become even more complicated.

　　Al Qaeda’s presence did not exist in Iraq prior to the war. It was the United States， which invaded and occupied Iraq from 2003 to 2011， that allowed Al Qaeda’s penetration into the country. In 2013， Al Qaeda’s Iraq branch declared its merger with the Syrian anti-government militant group National Salvation Front. Since then， Al Qaeda has been rampant and the Pandora’s box opened by the United States has become even harder to close.

　　The strategic aim of Al Qaeda’s branch in Iraq is to open a “strategic corridor” between Iraq and Syria to allow for Al Qaeda’s free passage and interaction between the two countries. But Al Qaeda wants more than that： Its ultimate goal is to establish an Islamic state in an expanded geographic range known as the Levant. Levant is an imprecise historical term that generally refers to the vast coastal area in the eastern Mediterranean including today’s Iraq， Syria， Palestine， Israel， Lebanon， Jordan， south Turkey and other places in the region.

　　Iraq’s antiterrorism capabilities have been on the decline since U.S. troops pulled out of the country at the end of 2011. As a result， terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda rose from the ashes. The spillover effects of the crisis in Syria have made terrorist activities in Iraq more complex. Currently， Al Qaeda militants are swarming into Iraq from Afghanistan， Libya， Lebanon， Yemen and Syria. They have greater combat experience， better training and more advanced weapons than those in Iraq.

　　Al Qaeda maintains a very offensive posture in Iraq due to the country’s chaotic political situation， sectarian conflicts and crumbling social structure. In 2013， at least 9，000 people， including civilians， were killed in attacks. For Al Qaeda， Iraq is the perfect place to recruit new members， further challenging the task of antiterrorism in the country.

　　Both the Maliki administration and local Sunni tribes in Fallujah firmly oppose Al Qaeda’s ambition to expand the influence of terrorism. The Iraqi Government has been fighting Al Qaeda in an effort to regain control in Fallujah. Although the Sunnis don’t want to see government troops and federal police in the city， they are even more opposed to Al Qaeda. Thus， the two major powers in Iraq have chosen to join hands to fight Al Qaeda.

　　It is impossible for Al Qaeda to get support from the local Fallujah people. Terrorist activities conducted by the organization stir up a common hatred in all Iraqi people. Some anti-U.S. militants from the Sunni group once joined Al Qaeda to fight against U.S. troops in Iraq after 2003. But these tribal forces soon realized their mistake and turned to assist U.S. troops and Iraq’s security forces to strike Al Qaeda， because of their resentment for Al Qaeda’s cruel and unscrupulous terrorist attacks targeting civilians.

　　The Maliki administration has now appealed to the United States for assistance in weapons， training and personnel to confront rebounding Al Qaeda terrorist activities. The Iraqi Government asked the United States to provide F-16 fighters， Apache attack helicopters， missiles， interceptors and training projects that aim to strengthen the Iraqi intelligence department’s capabilities. Moreover， Iraq may ask the United States to dispatch special troops or advisers from the Central Intelligence Agency to assist with Iraq’s antiterrorism missions.

　　Al Qaeda’s act of establishing a self-proclaimed state in Iraq also greatly challenged the United States. Washington harshly condemned Al Qaeda’s brutal attacks against civilians and security troops in Ramadi and Fallujah. It considers Al Qaeda as the biggest threat in the Middle East， and it is offering support to tribal forces as much as possible to strike Al Qaeda strongholds to regain lost areas. For example， the United States provided Iraq with Hellfire missiles and surveillance aircraft.

　　For now， Fallujah is still under Al Qaeda control， but the battle is not over yet. The “Islamic state” that Al Qaeda established in Fallujah will not be recognized by the international community because it is illegal. The organization’s farcical attempt to establish a “state” in Iraq will inevitably end in failure.

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