Lawmakers in the House of Representatives gathered to assess the threat of Al Qaeda in Iraq and its offshoot, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as a new round of bombings rocked Baghdad, killing 33 people.
Militants linked to Al Qaeda are now carrying out an average of 40 mass attacks a month, in Iraq’s bloodiest eruption of violence in six years and the worst since US troops withdrew in 2011, said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce.
‘As head of state, while he may not be up to it, Maliki must take steps to lead Iraq to a post-sectarian era,’ Royce insisted, as Iraq prepares for April elections.
The militants were benefiting from ‘the alienation’ of the country’s Sunni population from its Shiite-dominated government, which also has strong ties to Iran’s Shiite leaders in Iran, he added.
‘Al Qaeda has become very skilled at exploiting this sectarian rift, and Maliki’s power grab has given them much ammunition,’ Royce said.
But in a passionate outburst, his Republican colleague Representative Dana Rohrabacher questioned why the United States, which is supplying Iraq with helicopters and drones to help fight the militants, was still involved in the country.
‘Why do we feel compelled that we have to go in and be in the middle of a fight between people who are murdering each other?’ he asked.
‘Thousands of people are losing their lives to this insanity. Why does the United States feel that we need to become part of this insanity?’ ‘Why shouldn’t we let them kill each other... We’ve done enough.’
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq Brett McGurk agreed: ‘The suicide bomber phenomenon, it is complete insanity.’
Militants linked to Al Qaeda are now carrying out an average of 40 mass attacks a month, in Iraq’s bloodiest eruption of violence in six years and the worst since US troops withdrew in 2011, said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce.
‘As head of state, while he may not be up to it, Maliki must take steps to lead Iraq to a post-sectarian era,’ Royce insisted, as Iraq prepares for April elections.
The militants were benefiting from ‘the alienation’ of the country’s Sunni population from its Shiite-dominated government, which also has strong ties to Iran’s Shiite leaders in Iran, he added.
‘Al Qaeda has become very skilled at exploiting this sectarian rift, and Maliki’s power grab has given them much ammunition,’ Royce said.
But in a passionate outburst, his Republican colleague Representative Dana Rohrabacher questioned why the United States, which is supplying Iraq with helicopters and drones to help fight the militants, was still involved in the country.
‘Why do we feel compelled that we have to go in and be in the middle of a fight between people who are murdering each other?’ he asked.
‘Thousands of people are losing their lives to this insanity. Why does the United States feel that we need to become part of this insanity?’ ‘Why shouldn’t we let them kill each other... We’ve done enough.’
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq Brett McGurk agreed: ‘The suicide bomber phenomenon, it is complete insanity.’