U.S. Leaves Yemen, Iran Stays

Mar 24, 2015 11:00 AM EDT
By Eli Lake

To understand how the hurried evacuation of U.S. special operations forces from Yemen is connected to Iran's regional strategy, look no further than Atheel al-Nujaifi, the Sunni governor of Iraq's Nineveh Province.

On Sunday, Nujaifi sent a letter to U.S. leaders warning that his country was at a tipping point with regard to Iranian influence. As U.S. forces wait on the sidelines in an Iranian-led campaign to liberate Tikrit, Nujaifi said he worried that his country was being lost to Iran.

In other words, what has just happened in Yemen -- where an Iranian-armed and advised militia has overthrown a pro-American government -- could happen soon in Iraq.

Nujaifi, whose province includes Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul, addressed his letter to Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and asked that it be placed into the record for a hearing this week on the administration's strategy against the Islamic State. The Iraqi governor also sent copies to President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, Secretary of State John Kerry and John Allen, the retired Marine general who is U.S. envoy to the coalition against the Islamic State.

Royce told me that he agrees with Nujaifi that the administration has failed to challenge Iran's efforts to expand throughout the Middle East. "The fact that the governor is compelled to reach out directly to us in Congress speaks volumes about the sway that Iran holds over critical positions in the government in Baghdad," he said.

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http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-03-24/u-s-leaves-yemen-iran-stays