The UK has made three rounds of air drops to civilians trapped in the Northern regions of Iraq, and the US has conducted several airstrikes and drone strikes on militants in Mosul and on the outlying regions of Kurdistan in the past week, breaking the IS siege against minorities on Mount Sinjnar. On the ground, the fighting force of the Kurds called the Peshmurga are the only real line of defense against IS, while the international community is still debating whether airstrikes should be carried out by other countries alongside the US, or if the provision of humanitarian aid is the way forward. Obama has declared that while there will be no more airstrikes around Mount Sinjnar, the US will fight the militants from the air wherever needed. The European Union has failed to agree on supplying arms to the Kurds’ against the IS, which might escalate the conflict in favour of the well-stocked Islamist militants.
The political scenario of the country remains as tumultuous as it ever was, with one important change: as Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki has finally stepped down amidst growing opposition against him. Haider-al-Abadi, his successor is seen as a more suitable choice to lead the country, but whether his appointment will herald a change in the openly sectarian politics of the Iraqi government is questionable, considering that he comes from the same party as Nouri al-Maliki. The US has also sent an additional 130 troops with 250 ‘military advisors’ already present, but these are primarily from the marine corps and spec-ops, to work with representatives from the state department and to ensure that the IS cannot carry out acts of mass genocide as they are wont to do. While the American government pins the blame of this conflict on sectarianism and the inability of the government, the instability caused by the US intervention and the subsequent pullout can hardly be ruled out. Renewed US presence in Iraq, while effective in the very short run, will usher in a new wave of instability; that from a half-baked intervention and its many problematics. All those who continue to root for international intervention, must weigh the cons wisely, based on the devastating precedents American intervention has amassed in its wake.