by: Patrick Martin
Key-Takeaway:
The Russian formation of a coordination cell in Baghdad is an inflection point
aimed at undercutting U.S. influence over the direction of the anti-ISIS
efforts in Iraq and Syria. However, the Russian footprint in Iraq is much
smaller than in Syria, while U.S. influence over the ISF and Iraqi state are
much greater than U.S. influence in Syria. The U.S. and the U.S.-led Coalition
can maintain its position as Iraq’s essential ally in the anti-ISIS fight by
increasing advisory, materiel, and aerial support to the Iraqi state, without substantially
increasing its ground presence. Such changes must prepare Iraq to recapture
territory from ISIS quickly in order to demonstrate the value of cooperation
with the U.S.
Read more online at: http://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iraq-after-russian-intervention-syria
