Iraq makes sanctions against Iran ineffective

The US and EU have announced new sanctions in the hope of persuading Iran to abandon its alleged nuclear weapons programme, though how effective these will be is questionable. China, India, Russia, Turkey, Japan, and South Korea have already refused to go along with the new measures. Iran also has the means to evade the sanctions – through its proximity to Iraq. Iran has often been singled out as the main beneficiary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, as well as the biggest threat to Iraq's stability in the post-Saddam era. Iran's uninterrupted support for Shia militia groups in southern Iraq, particularly the Mahdi army, is seen as one indication of its involvement in Iraqi politics and its ability to cause problems for adversaries. And yet Iran's key interest in Iraq is less about realpolitik than about trade. Iran is one of Iraq's most important regional economic partners, with an annual trade volume between the two sides standing at $8bn to $10bn (£5bn to £6.4bn). However, it is Iraq's 910-mile border with Iran, and therefore its geographical suitability as a smuggling hub for sanctioned goods, which is of paramount importance to Iran at present.

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In the Arab Spring, Watch Turkey

Landlocked Iraqi Kurdistan also needs a conduit to export its oil to the West. The only country that can fulfill both roles is Turkey. That is why K.R.G. officials, instead of supporting their ethnic brethren inside Turkey, have often sided with Ankara against the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or P.K.K. All this explains why the bombing on Dec. 28, in which the Turks killed 35 Kurdish smugglers whom they mistook for terrorists, provoked little outrage in Iraqi Kurdistan. On the streets of Erbil there are no signs of protests against Turkey. Instead, one notices Turkey’s ubiquitous presence in the form of construction, investment, consumer goods and tourists. Should more pipelines leading from Iraqi Kurdistan to the Mediterranean via Turkey be built, the result will be the de facto creation of an Iraqi-Kurdish buffer state. Dependent on Turkey for its survival, such a state would also form a barrier to Iranian (or American, or P.K.K.) interference in Turkish affairs. In the southern part of Iraq, the situation is just the opposite. There, a Shiite Arab buffer state, buttressed by Iran as a bulwark against Turkish, American or Saudi encroachments, is being created. The last two weeks’ events have removed any doubt that Maliki is “Iran’s man” in Baghdad. Yet despite this de facto partitioning of Iraq over the last month, Turkey and Iran are not challenging each other’s spheres of influence.

In the Arab Spring, Watch Turkey

'No credence in Blackwater revival' (video)

As U.S. troops prepare to leave Iraq, thousands of contractors are moving in to make a buck in the country devastated by war. And one of them is the world's most infamous mercenary company, formerly known as Blackwater. The firm was once banned from Iraq over allegations of indiscriminate shooting of civilians but now it's trying to wash away the bloody taint by rebranding itself for a second time - it's now to be called 'Academy'. Jack Rice, a lawyer and former CIA officer, who's done extensive research into Blackwater's operations in Iraq, says that, although the company is blamed for having an awful lot of blood on its hands, it's still likely to get new contracts in the country.

RT: 'No credence in Blackwater revival'

Exxon's deal with the Kurds inflames Baghdad

The bombshell exploded last month when Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company, defied the instructions of the Baghdad government and signed a deal with the Iraqi Kurds to search for oil in the northern area of Iraq they control. To make matters worse, three of the areas Exxon has signed up to explore are on territory the two authorities dispute. The government must now decide if it will retaliate by kicking Exxon out of a giant oilfield it is developing in the south of Iraq.

The oil giant has defied Iraq's government by signing up to drill in disputed territory

Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick: Iraq cannot defend air sovereignty after US withdrwal

When asked if Iraq had the capability to defend its own air sovereignty, the General had a different answer.

“No, not completely. You know, to defend air sovereignty, you have to see what is coming across the border, and then you have to be able to react and defend your sovereign airspace. Right now, there’s no problem at all with commercial air traffic inside the country. The government of Iraq controls all the airspace. But if there is someone that wants to breach the airspace that doesn’t have any kind of transmission capability in their airplane or does not want to transmit, to not be seen as they cross the border, Iraq cannot see them. And Iraq doesn’t have an advanced jet fighter yet to be able to react and defend their airspace.”

However, that will eventually change. Helmick said Iraq has purchased 16 F-16s. but the purchase and training of pilots will take time. As of now, Iraq understands they have a gap in their defense. “How they deal with that gap is really up to them.”

Iraq cannot defend air sovereignty after US withdrwal