Russia Continues Push to Remove U.S. Influence from Middle East

Reuters reports that Russia is ready to send civil airliners and continue to provide military aid to Iraq to fight the Islamic State (IS). This comes at a great detriment to the U.S. who may lose vital influence in the Middle East.

Russia has been providing financial and military aid to Iraq for several years, but it now makes a major commitment to Iraq when the Assad regime looks prime to take back Aleppo, a major rebel stronghold.

Russia had been a long time supporter of the Iraqi government. Russia signed a treaty of friendship with Iraq in 1972 because of Iraq’s size, strategic position, and oil, and this relationship continued well into the Saddam years. The Washington Times reported that Russia may have been tied to moving Iraqi arms to Syria before the U.S. intervention in 2003, and between 2008 and 2011 Bagdad purchased up to $246 million dollars of military aid from Russia.

Russia has been engaging more with Iraq in support of its intervention in Syria. This past September Russia entered into a four-way intelligence sharing agreement between themselves, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. Aside from intelligence, Russia has provided military aid such as jets, military experts, tanks, artillery equipment, and armored vehicles to Iraq.

Russia has no vital interest in the region. They have no ports in the country like they do in Syria, nor do they have any military bases. Russia’s interest in Iraq lies primarily in weakening U.S. influence in the region. The U.S. was providing large amounts of military aid to Iraq, and Russia does not want to see that relationship grow any further.

The U.S. has spent up to $20 billion in military equipment and training for the Iraqi military. The U.S. has also sent ground troops and advisors to combat IS. However, this aid has not been enough to gain Iraq’s support.

Iraq has criticized the U.S. for being too soft on IS and terrorism. The Iraqi government believe the U.S. was not moving fast enough against IS, and they wanted to see greater results. This claim of being too slow comes at an even greater detriment when the Assad regime has made up significant ground in three months with the help of Russian airstrikes. The Iraqis may see the Russians as the answer to defeating IS, and the U.S. will continue to lose any influence in the region if they cannot prove they can provide valuable support against IS.

CBS News reported last October that U.S. officials have told Iraqi leaders to choose a side, Russia or the U.S., and it’s increasingly clear that the Iraqi governments ties to Iran and Russia trump those with the U.S.

Russia continues its support for a Shiite axis (Iran-Iraq-and Syria), and it has created a commanding influence in the Middle East. The U.S., on the other hand, has continued to alienate its longtime allies in the region, in part through the misguided effort to secure an Iran nuclear deal.