Iraqi leader says Islamic state threatens region

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BAGHDAD (AP) — An extremist group’s declaration of an
Islamic state in territory it has seized in Iraq and Syria poses a
threat to the entire region, Iraq’s prime minister warned Wednesday,
saying that "no one in Iraq or any neighboring country will be safe from
these plans."
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant announced
this week that it has unilaterally established a caliphate in the areas
under its control. It declared the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,
the head of its new self-styled state governed by Shariah law and
demanded that all Muslims pledge allegiance to him.
In his weekly
address, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the militant group’s
announcement "is a message to all the states in the region that you are
inside the red circle now."
With the support of other Sunni
militants, the extremist group has overrun huge swaths of northern and
western Iraq in recent weeks, including the country’s second-largest
city, Mosul. The blitz across Iraq appears to have crested, at least for
now, as it reaches Shiite-majority areas, where resistance is tougher,
and as it seeks to consolidate its control of the territory already in
hand.
In what appeared to be a bid to peel away some of the
extremist group’s allies among Iraq’s Sunni tribes, al-Maliki offered an
amnesty "for all tribes and people who got involved in any act against
the state."
"They should return to their senses. We are not
excluding anybody, even those who committed misdeeds, apart from those
who killed or shed blood," he said. "I welcome them to return and stand
with the other tribes that have taken up arms."
Al-Maliki offered a
similar amnesty after militants seized two cities in central Iraq early
this year, but few if any Sunnis took up his offer.
With its
recent gains, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant now controls a
swath of land that stretches from northern Syria to the outskirts of
Baghdad in central Iraq. That has sent tremors across the region,
particularly in the capitals of Iraq’s neighbors — Saudi Arabia, Jordan
and Iran.
The United States, which withdrew the last of its troops from Iraq in 2011, is also keeping close tabs on
events.
President
Barack Obama has been hesitant to send much military aid to Iraq for
fear of dragging the U.S. into another years-long Mideast war. The White
House has ruled out sending in combat troops, but this week sent more
soldiers to Baghdad to help bolster the U.S. Embassy. All told,
officials say, there are about 750 U.S. troops in Iraq — about half of
which are advising Iraqi counterterrorism forces.
U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft are also flying dozens of reconnaissance missions a day over Iraq to
gather intelligence.
The
Sunni insurgent’s offensive is fueled, at least in part, by the Sunni
minority’s long list of grievances with al-Maliki and his Shiite-led
government. They accuse al-Maliki, who himself is Shiite, of treating
them like second-class citizens and unfairly targeting them with the
security forces.
Iraq’s new parliament met for the first time on
Tuesday since April elections amid hopes for the swift formation of a
new government. Those hopes quickly faded after the legislature
deadlocked less than two hours into the meeting when Sunnis and Kurds
walked out.
Al-Maliki acknowledged the failure of the first
session, but expressed hope for a quick resolution when parliament meets
next week.
"God willing, in the next session, we will overcome it
through cooperation and openness and reality in choosing people and a
mechanism that would lead us to a solid political process," he said.
The
main sticking point is the job of prime minister, which holds the main
levers of power. Under an informal system that took hold after the 2003
U.S.-led invasion, Iraq’s prime minister is chosen from the Shiite
community, the president from the Kurdish minority and the speaker of
parliament from the Sunni community.
Al-Maliki, who has held the
post since 2006, is being pressed to step aside as his failure to
promote reconciliation has been blamed for stoking the Sunni insurgency
led by the al-Qaida splinter group the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant. Sunnis and Kurds, both of whom accuse al-Maliki of breaking
promises and attempting to monopolize power, demand that he be replaced.
But
al-Maliki has shown no willingness publicly to bow out. His bloc won
the most votes in April elections, which traditionally would give him
first crack at forming a new government. The current crisis in Iraq,
however, has altered political calculations, and many of al-Maliki’s
former allies, and even key patron Iran, have begun exploring
alternatives to replace him.
Still, al-Maliki has a track-record
of outmaneuvering his rivals to retain power, and he is nothing if not a
political survivor. At the same time, he needs allies to keep his job,
setting the stage for what could be a drawn-out negotiation process.
After
nightfall, a car bomb on a busy commercial street in the western
Baghdad neighborhood of Jihad killed at least five people, a security
official said, adding that 15 were also wounded in the attack.
A
hospital official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke
on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief the
media. The city has been relatively quiet in recent weeks as security
forces deployed en masse following the insurgent offensive.

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