Exodus of US Troops from Iraq as Chaos Spreads

An ISIL militant posing with the trademark Islamists' flag after
they allegedly seized an Iraqi army checkpoint in the northern
province of Salahuddin

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A sense of crisis is gripping Baghdad as radical jihadists make ground at rapid speed across northern Iraq on the roads towards the capital

A growing sense of panic was gripping Iraq last night as the al-Qaeda uprising in the country’s north led to US contractors being evacuated from the region and European countries ordering their citizens to leave Baghdad.

With militants threatening to advance on the capital, signs emerged of diplomats making preparations to leave the country in the event of civil war erupting.

Three planes carrying American diplomats and contractors stationed at a training mission at an Iraqi airbase in Balad, north of Baghdad, flew out amid fears that the base could be surrounded by the militants. Germany ordered all its citizens to leave the Iraqi capital, as did Turkey, which has already had 80 people kidnapped by the militants, including the consul to the northern city of Mosul.

British officials said they had no immediate plans to evacuate staff from Baghdad’s heavily guarded “Green Zone”. As troops stood guard at the city’s northern flanks, queues formed at the main airport while banks saw large number of customers attempt to withdraw money. Last night the internet also went down in Baghdad for an hour, adding to the atmosphere of unease. » | Colin Freeman | Thursday, June 12, 2014

Barack Obama Must Pull US Troops Out of Afghanistan, Says Indonesian Cousin
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama must pull American troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq if he wants to fulfil his dream of reconciling the Muslim world and the West, according to his Indonesian cousin.

Haryo Soetendro, 55, grew up with Mr Obama. Photograph: The Telegraph
Haryo Soetendro, 55, grew up with Mr Obama – whom he knew as "Barry" – when the future American president lived in Indonesia for four years from the late 1960s.

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Soetendro said that his illustrious cousin must start delivering on his promise to build bridges with the Islamic world as the President prepares to leave for a visit to his childhood home next weekend.

"The Iraq and Afghanistan problems should be solved peacefully and that is what Barry is trying to do. Indonesian Muslims are generally tolerant. But there is a common opinion that one country should not occupy another. No one would want their house occupied by someone else.

"You cannot force other countries to accept your idea of what is right just because you are stronger. I think the mothers in America would agree with this when they see their soldier sons being killed in Afghanistan."

Mr Obama is due to fly to Indonesia next week but postponed his trip to help hammer out a health care reform bill that he hoped will be passed before his departure.

After criticism that he was taking a "vacation" to the country that had been timed to coincide with his daughters' school holidays, the White House announced that Mr Obama's wife Michelle and their children would not be accompanying him. >>> Barney Henderson in Jakarta | Monday, March 15, 2010

Petraeus: Fighting in Iraq is a Long-Term Endeavour
BBC: The head of US forces in Iraq, Lt Gen David Petraeus, has told the BBC that fighting the insurgency is a "long term endeavour" which could take decades.

Speaking to the BBC's John Simpson in Baquba, Gen Petraeus said there was evidence that the recent troops surge was producing gains on the ground.

But he warned that US forces were engaged in a "tough fight" which will get "harder before it gets easier".

His comments come as US calls for a rapid troop withdrawal gather strength. US Iraq chief warns of long war (more)

Mark Alexander

Ahmadinejad Calls for End to Presence of US Troops in Gulf
KUWAIT TIMES: ABU DHABI: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for an end to the presence of US troops in the Gulf during a visit to the US-allied United Arab Emirates yesterday, an Iranian news agency reported. "With each other's help, we can turn the Persian Gulf to the gulf of peace and friendship," the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in a meeting with his UAE counterpart Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahayan. "We all wish that foreign troops would leave the region and give a chance to countries in the region to establish security in the region themselves," Mehr quoted Ahmadinejad as saying at the start of his two-day visit, the first to the Gulf Arab country by an Iranian head of state. Ahmadinejad calls for US forces to quit Gulf (more)

ARAB NEWS: We Can Turn Gulf into Bastion of Peace, says Ahmadinejad

Mark Alexander