US strategy should be to 'evict' Iranian regime from Iraq: General Shelton

                   

Part of President Obama’s solution to the Islamic State should be to 'evict' the Iranian regime and its militias from Iraq. That would give the new leadership in Baghdad a real and tangible opportunity to form an inclusive government, says General Hugh Shelton, former U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In an article published in Boston Globe, General Shelton said: "In fact, the litmus test for Iraq’s new leaders is their ability to distance themselves from the regime in Tehran and treat the Iranian dissidents in Iraq humanely. Failure to do so would have long-term consequences that would prove to be much more catastrophic."

He writes: " While the Islamic State has only recently swept into the headlines due to its organizational strength and its barbarity, Iran has been and remains the key threat to the region and to the United States due to its nuclear ambitions, its ongoing sponsorship of international terrorism, and its quest for regional hegemony. Dealing with Iran can help choke off the Islamic State, and the ongoing nuclear negotiations between Iran and the six major powers are the right place to apply the pressure."

General Shelton believes: "The Iranian regime is seeking to lure Washington into cooperation in Iraq, with the pretense of fighting terrorism, in order to win more concessions during nuclear negotiations. By doing so, it will recoup its recent losses in Iraq while preserving its nuclear program. Washington must not fall into that trap."

The Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi was correct in saying, “While confronting [the Islamic State] is absolutely necessary, attempting to thwart it would ultimately prove fruitless unless it is accompanied by evicting the Iranian regime and its affiliated terrorist groupings from Iraq,” he stated.