ISIS/ISIL conflict in Syria/Iraq (No OpEd, No Politics)

asif iqbal said:

To blame Turkey for ISIS is like blaming Gambia for starting WWII

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Dizasta1 said:

I wish I could respond to your post, my friend. But I doubt anyone here would the intellectual open-mindedness, to digest it!!

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Islamic State continues sweep against Kurds towards Baghdad

The fundamentalist militia continues its advance as the UN declares its highest level of emergency and fighting erupts west of the capital

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The declaration of a “caliphate” by Islamist militants in Iraq lacks and legitimacy and their death threats to Christians are a danger to civilization, Turkey’s top cleric, the successor to the last caliph’s most senior imam, stated.

The Islamic State, an armed group formerly allied to al-Qaeda that has captured territory across Iraq, last month declared its leader, Ibrahim al-Baghdadi, “caliph”, which was the historical title last held by the Turkish Ottoman sultan who ruled much of the Muslim world.

“Such declarations have no legitimacy whatsoever,” Mehmet Gormez, the head of the Religious Affairs Directorate and the highest religious authority in Turkey, which, although a Muslim country by population, has been a secular state since the 1920’s.

“Since the caliphate was abolished … there have been movements that think they can pull together the Muslim world by re-establishing a caliphate, but they have nothing to do with reality, whether from a political or legal perspective.”

Gormez said that the death threats against non-Muslims made by the group, formerly known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, were hugely damaging.

“The statement made against Christians is truly awful. Islamic scholars need to focus on this an inability to peacefully sustain other faiths and cultures heralds the collapse of a civilization,” he told Reuters in a recent interview.

Since ISIS’ advance across northern Iraq in June, Christians have fled the city of Mosul, where the militants are based after they were given the choice to convert, pay a religious tax, or be executed.

Mosul’s Christian community is one of the world’s oldest, tracing its roots back over two millennia.

Gormez is in a unique position to question Baghdadi’s claim to the caliph’s seat. His office was created in 1924 to replace the Ottoman Sheikh al-Islam, the one with authority to confirm new sultans and also served as chief legal adviser.

“Its structure has changed greatly in modern times but its historical ties, of course, continue,” Gormez stated.

The caliphate itself was abolished in 1924, part of modernizing efforts by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the secular Turkish Republic on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.

Today, Gormez’s department drafts the weekly sermon delivered at the nation’s 85,000 mosques, which it also supervises. It also employs all of Turkey’s imams, who are technically civil servants trained by the state.

The constitution enshrines the directorate’s duty to uphold principles of secularism and unity.

“The caliphate is erroneously viewed as a religious authority by Westerners, who see it like a kind of papacy. But historically the caliphate was a legal entity that accepted religious references. It was a political authority,” he stated.

Muslims can no longer be unified under the rule of a single ruler like a caliph but could emulate political blocs like the European Union, aligning themselves along shared democratic values, Gormez said after wrapping up an international conference in Istanbul that brought together dozens of scholars from the Shi’ite and Sunni branches of Islam.

Conflict between the two denominations has been blamed for much of the recent bloodshed in Iraq and Syria, but Gormez said that the economic and social factors in areas were the root causes.

“After a century of occupation, dictatorial regimes and suppressed identity, they are trying to express their vengeful anger and hatred by appropriating religion,” he continued.

“The West looks for the roots of this terror and violence in religion, but these are not the wars of the Middle Ages, which were truly sectarian.”

An average of 1,000 Muslims are killed each day around the world, mostly due to internecine strife, he stated. “Almost 90 percent of them are killed by other Muslims, by their brothers.

“Muslims need not look beyond themselves for the causes of these conflicts. They should be aware that … global powers have a responsibility but those are forces they cannot control.”

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Miragedriver said:

What surprises me is that Western powers seem oddly uninterested in facing down this monumental threat to Middle East peace and stability (and in due time to the West).

If we let ISIS flourish then they will eventually finish their conquest of much of Iraq and Syria before turning their attention to militant Islam's usual foes (USA, France, UK, Israel).

If the West doesn't stamp out ISIS now then somewhere down the road don't be surprised to see ISIS inspired suicide attacks on buses, trains, shopping centers in Western cities.

The West has the capability, wealth & influence to wipe out ISIS. However, we need the political will to do so before they decide to bring the conflict to our doorstep!



I will now get back to bottling my Malbec

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Miragedriver said:

What surprises me is that Western powers seem oddly uninterested in facing down this monumental threat to Middle East peace and stability (and in due time to the West).

If we let ISIS flourish then they will eventually finish their conquest of much of Iraq and Syria before turning their attention to militant Islam's usual foes (USA, France, UK, Israel).

If the West doesn't stamp out ISIS now then somewhere down the road don't be surprised to see ISIS inspired suicide attacks on buses, trains, shopping centers in Western cities.

The West has the capability, wealth & influence to wipe out ISIS. However, we need the political will to do so before they decide to bring the conflict to our doorstep!



I will now get back to bottling my Malbec

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1 The Long War Journal: Al Nusrah Front spokesman explains differences with Islamic State in video appearance



Written by Thomas Joscelyn on August 13, 2014 12:17 AM to 1 The Long War Journal
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In a video released online on Aug. 8, Abu Firas al Suri, who serves as the Al Nusrah Front's spokesman, answered questions about the ongoing war in Syria. Al Suri denies that Al Nusrah plans to unilaterally declare an Islamic emirate (or state) in Syria. And he explains how Al Nusrah, which is an official branch of al Qaeda, differs from its rival, the Islamic State, in waging jihad.

The video was first obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

"The Al Nusra Front did not announce an emirate in the meaning of an independent emirate, or the meaning of a state, or any meaning close to that," al Suri insists.

"We mean the emirate should be established by consulting those who have an Islamist affiliation, whether from the jihadi factions, or the local leaders of the country, or the people of influence, and of course, with all the scholars inside and outside the country," al Suri says, according to SITE's translation.

Last month, a controversy erupted in jihadist circles after an audio recording of Al Nusrah's emir, Abu Muhammad al Julani, was leaked online. Julani's speech was widely interpreted as meaning that his group was going to declare itself the head of an Islamic emirate and fully enforce sharia law in the areas under its control without consulting other Islamist and jihadist groups. The potential move was viewed as a response to the Islamic State's announcement on June 29 that it now rules as a caliphate.

"The time has come ... for us to establish an Islamic emirate in the Levant, to implement the limits and punishments of God Almighty, and his laws in every sense of the word, without compromise, complacency, equivocation, or circumvention," Julani says in the leaked message.

The Al Nusrah Front quickly issued a statement denying that it intended to announce an emirate, adding that it would only do so after "the pious scholars agree with our stance."

However, Al Nusrah's denial did not put an end to speculation that the group was going to move away from its strategy of closely cooperating with other like-minded rebel organizations. For instance, the Islamic Front, a coalition of several insurgency organizations, issued a statement rejecting the Islamic State's caliphate, as well as any proposed emirate. The latter rejection was aimed at the Al Nusrah Front and Julani.

The Islamic Front has closely cooperated with Al Nusrah on the battlefield. One of the key groups within the Islamic Front is Ahrar al Sham, which is linked to al Qaeda. Ahrar al Sham was co-founded by Abu Khalid al Suri, a senior al Qaeda operative who served as Ayman al Zawahiri's chief representative in Syria until his death in February. It is widely believed that he was killed by the Islamic State.

Thus, Abu Firas al Suri's video is a deliberate attempt by the Al Nusrah Front to quell any problems that have arisen with its allies since the leak of Julani's speech.

Although Julani specifically said that his group would implement sharia law "without compromise," al Suri argues this is not the case. Al Suri points to Al Nusrah's "Sharia Arbitration Charter," which is an initiative to get the various jihadist and Islamist groups to govern rebel-controlled areas according to agreed-upon sharia laws.

"In Hama alone, 14 factions signed this agreement," al Suri claims, according to SITE's translation. "We did not force anyone and we will not force anyone. Any faction that joins us in empowering the sharia of Allah is very warmly welcomed."

Al Suri draws a sharp distinction between his organization's plans for implementing sharia law and the Islamic State's governance. "We will not be like the [Islamic] State, because the difference between us and them is not a difference in practice or a difference in behavior, but it is a doctrinal difference."

Like other al Qaeda branches, Al Nusrah seeks to inculcate its radical ideological beliefs in the population, as well as in other allied jihadist organizations, thereby gaining more widespread acceptance for its version of sharia law. This is opposite of the Islamic State's approach, as the former branch of al Qaeda seeks to impose its laws on all who live within its territory.

Senior al Qaeda leader who was little-known until earlier this year

Abu Firas al Suri's senior role within the Al Nusrah Front only became known earlier this year. In the leaked audio recording of Julani's speech, al Suri speaks before Julani and introduces him to the audience. This is an indication of al Suri's stature within the jihadist organization.

Al Suri first appeared in an Al Nusrah video in March. Al Suri sharply criticized the Islamic State and its practices in the production.

Al Nusrah also revealed extensive details about al Suri's background in the video. Al Suri was a member of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and participated in the uprisings against Hafez al Assad's regime in 1979 and 1980.

Al Suri later traveled to Afghanistan, where he met Abdullah Azzam, a founding father of modern jihadism who was killed in the late 1980s, and Osama bin Laden. He then helped bin Laden and Pakistani jihadists establish Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist organization that remains closely linked to al Qaeda to this day.

After the 9/11 attacks, al Suri helped al Qaeda families escape Afghanistan. And from 2003 to 2013 he was stationed in Yemen, where he stayed until the dispute between the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State erupted. Al Qaeda's senior leaders then had al Suri relocate to Syria, where he participated in the failed mediation efforts between the two groups.

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Hezbollah sees Islamic State as threat to Gulf, Jordan
7:47am EDT
By Tom Perry
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of Lebanese group Hezbollah described the radical Islamist movement that has seized territory in Iraq and Syria as a growing "monster" that could threaten Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf states.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose group has been helping Syria's President Bashar al-Assad fight a Sunni Islamist-dominated insurgency, said Islamic State could easily recruit in other areas where its hardline ideology exists.
"Wherever there are followers of the ideology there is ground for (Islamic State), and this exists in Jordan, in Saudi Arabia, in Kuwait, and the Gulf states," Nasrallah said in an interview with the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar published on Friday.
Nasrallah, whose group is backed by Shi'ite Muslim power Iran, said Islamic State was encountering resistance in some parts of Iraq and Syria. But he added: "It appears that the capabilities, numbers and capacities available to (Islamic State) are vast and large. This is what is worrying everyone, and everyone should be worried."
Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Muslim monarchy that has been in a state of cold war with Shi'ite Iran and its allies, has shown growing signs of alarm about the spread of Islamic State. Last month, it deployed 30,000 soldiers at its border with Iraq.
Saudi Arabia has also been a major sponsor of the anti-Assad uprising.
Hezbollah's role in Syria has helped Assad beat back the rebellion against his rule in critical areas of the country including Damascus and a corridor of territory stretching north from the capital. But large parts of Syria's less densely populated north and east have fallen to Islamic State.
"This danger does not recognise Shi'ites, Sunnis, Muslims, Christians or Druze or Yazidis or Arabs or Kurds. This monster is growing and getting bigger," said Nasrallah.
Nasrallah reiterated his defence of Hezbollah's role in the Syrian conflict, the focus of criticism from Lebanese opponents who say the group has provoked Sunni militant attacks in Lebanon.
Most recently, insurgents including members of Islamic State seized the town of Arsal at the Syrian border, battling the Lebanese army for five days before withdrawing with 19 soldiers and 17 policemen as captives.
Nasrallah said the insurgents would have advanced as far as the Lebanese coast were it not for Hezbollah's role fighting them in areas of Syria just east of the Lebanese border.
"Going to fight in Syria was, in the first degree, to defend Lebanon, the resistance in Lebanon, and all Lebanese," he said.
A Hezbollah commander was last month killed in Iraq near Mosul, a city seized by Islamic State in June, suggesting the group may also be helping pro-government forces there.
Hezbollah has not officially announced any role in Iraq.
Nasrallah linked the threat posed by Islamic State to the spread of Wahhabism, a puritanical school of Islam followed in Saudi Arabia that demands obedience to the ruler but which has been widely blamed for fuelling Sunni radicalism.
"(Islamic State) does not have borders. There is a real danger and a real fear among many states and authorities, because one of the advantages of this organisation is its capacity to recruit among followers of al Qaeda-Wahhabi thought," he said.

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Iraq's Maliki finally steps aside, paving way for new government
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7:20am EDT
By Raheem Salman and Michael Georgy
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Nuri al-Maliki finally bowed to pressure within Iraq and beyond on Thursday and stepped down as prime minister, paving the way for a new coalition that world and regional powers hope can quash a Sunni Islamist insurgency that threatens Baghdad.
Maliki ended eight years of often divisive, sectarian rule and endorsed fellow Shi'ite Haider al-Abadi in a televised speech during which he stood next to his successor and spoke of the grave threat from Sunni Islamic State militants who have taken over large areas of northern Iraq.
"I announce before you today, to ease the movement of the political process and the formation of the new government, the withdrawal of my candidacy in favor of brother Dr. Haider al-Abadi," Maliki said.
Maliki's decision was likely to please Iraq's Sunni minority, which dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein's iron rule but was sidelined by Maliki, a relative unknown when he came to power in 2006 with U.S. backing.
Maliki had resisted months of pressure to step down from Sunnis, Kurds, some fellow Shi'ites, Shi'ite regional power Iran and the United States. He had insisted on his right to form a new government based on the results of a parliamentary election in late April.
His stubborn insistence stirred concerns of a violent power struggle in Baghdad. But in recent days, as his support was obviously crumbling, he told his military commanders to stay out of politics.
"From the beginning I ruled out the option of using force, because I do not believe in this choice, which would without a doubt return Iraq to the ages of dictatorship, oppression and tyranny, except to confront terrorism and terrorists and those violating the will and interests of the people," Maliki said.
On Wednesday, his own Dawa political party publicly threw its support behind Abadi and asked lawmakers to work with him to form a new government. And Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, offered his personal endorsement to Abadi, distancing himself from Maliki.
U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice commended Maliki for his decision to support Abadi, and she noted a wide range of leaders from across the Iraqi political spectrum had committed to help Abadi form a broad, inclusive government.
"These are encouraging developments that we hope can set Iraq on a new path and unite its people against the threat presented by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant," Rice said in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described Maliki's decision as "important and honorable" and said "the United States stands ready to partner with a new and inclusive government to counter this threat" from the Islamic State.
A U.S. official said that once administration officials concluded Maliki had to go, Washington pushed Iraqi politicians to take steps such as ratifying the election results and designating a prime minister but added it had not advocated specific candidates. "It was all teeth-grinding activity," said the official on condition of anonymity. "While we were pushing the process, they were determining who was going to be in the driver’s seat."
"In the end, it was the weight of the system and the weight of the history that came down, and Maliki just lost all of his support," he added. The official also said a clear shift last week against Maliki by Iraq's most influential cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, "was a big, big part of everybody accepting that there was no way forward with Maliki."
Abadi is seen as a moderate Shi'ite with a decent chance of improving ties with Sunnis. But he is faced with halting the advance of the Islamic State, which has overrun large areas of Iraq.
ANBAR AGREEMENT?
Before Maliki's announcement, a leading figure in the Sunni minority told Reuters he had been promised U.S. help to fight the Islamic State militants.
Ahmed Khalaf al-Dulaimi, the governor of the Sunni heartland province of Anbar, told Reuters his request for help, made in meetings with U.S. diplomats and a senior military officer, included air support against the militants who have a tight grip on large parts of his desert province and northwestern Iraq.
Such a move could revive cooperation between Sunni tribes, the Shi'ite-led authorities and U.S. forces that was credited with thwarting al Qaeda in Iraq several years ago.
But the U.S. State Department played down Dulaimi’s statement.
"We’ve continued meeting with a range of officials to talk through what the needs might be - the security needs - to fight ISIL across the board,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters in Washington.
Asked if Dulaimi was correct that the United States had made a commitment, Harf said she had no details. "We’re having conversations about what it (any security assistance) might look like in the future, but nothing concrete beyond that," she said.
A U.S. defense official said: "We are not tracking any such request, and there are no plans to support them."
Dulaimi said in a telephone interview: "Our first goal is the air support. Their technology capability will offer a lot of intelligence information and monitoring of the desert and many things which we are in need of."
"No date was decided but it will be very soon and there will be a presence for the Americans in the western area."
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday that U.S. troops planning an evacuation of refugees further north were standing down as U.S. air strikes and supply drops had broken the "siege of Mount Sinjar," where thousands of members of the Yazidi religious minority had taken refuge from the militants.
Obama said some of the U.S. personnel sent to draw up plans for the evacuation of the Yazidis would soon leave Iraq.
Disowned by al Qaeda as too radical after it took control of large parts of Syria, Islamic State capitalized on its Syrian territorial gains and sectarian tensions in Iraq to gain control of Falluja and Anbar's capital Ramadi early this year.
Unlike Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda, which set its sights on destroying the West, the Islamic State has territorial goals, aims to set up a caliphate and rages against the Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916 between Britain and France that split the Ottoman empire and carved borders across the Arab lands.
Seizing the capital, Baghdad, would be difficult because of the presence of special forces and thousands of Shi'ite militias who have slowed down the Islamic State elsewhere.
But a foothold just near the capital could make it easier for the IS to carry out suicide bombings, deepen sectarian tensions and destabilize Iraq.
On Thursday, Islamic State militants massed near the town of Qara Tappa, 120 km (75 miles) north of Baghdad, security sources and a local official said, in an apparent bid to broaden their front with Kurdish peshmerga fighters.
The movement around Qara Tappa suggests they are becoming more confident and seeking to grab more territory closer to the capital after stalling in that region.
"The Islamic State is massing its militants near Qara Tappa," said one of the security sources. "It seems they are going to broaden their front with the Kurdish fighters."
(This story has been refiled Corrects to clarify reference to Iraqi officials, not U.S. administration, in paragraph 12)
(Writing by Michael Georgy; Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Missy Ryan in Washington; Editing by Peter Millership, Jim Loney, Ken Wills and Lisa Shumaker)

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Top Iraqi cleric backs new premier, calls for unity
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9:22am EDT
By Raheem Salman and Michael Georgy
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's most influential cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, threw his weight on Friday behind the new prime minister, calling for national unity to contain sectarian bloodshed and an offensive by Islamic State militants that threatens Baghdad.
Speaking after Nuri al-Maliki finally stepped down as prime minister under heavy pressure from allies at home and abroad, the spiritual leader of Iraq's Shi'ite majority said the handover to Maliki's party colleague Haider al-Abadi offered a rare opportunity to resolve political and security crises.
Iraq has been plunged into its worst violence since the peak of a sectarian civil war in 2006-2007, with Sunni fighters led by the Islamic State overrunning large parts of the west and north, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee for their lives and threatening the ethnic Kurds in their autonomous province.
Sistani told the country's feuding politicians to live up to their "historic responsibility" by cooperating with Abadi as he tries to form a new government and overcome divisions among the Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish communities that deepened as Maliki pursued what critics saw as a sectarian Shi'ite agenda.
Abadi himself, in comments online, urged his countrymen to unite and cautioned that the road ahead would be tough.
Sistani, a reclusive octogenarian whose authority few Iraqi politicians would dare openly challenge, also had pointed comments for the military, which offered serious resistance when the Islamic State staged its lightning offensive in June.
"We stress the necessity that the Iraqi flag is the banner they hoist over their troops and units, and avoid using any pictures or other symbols,” Sistani said, in a call for the armed forces to set aside sectarian differences. Maliki was blamed for blurring lines between the army and Shi'ite militias.
Maliki ended eight years in power that began under U.S. occupation and endorsed Abadi, a member of his Shi'ite Islamic Dawa party, in a televised speech late on Thursday during which he stood next to his successor, surrounded by other leaders.
Maliki's critics at home and abroad had accused him of marginalising the Sunni Muslim minority, which dominated Iraq until a U.S.-led invasion deposed dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003. This, they said, had encouraged disaffected Sunnis to back the jihadist fighters who have ordered religious minorities to convert to their brand of Islam or die.
They have threatened to march on the capital.
The appointment of Abadi, who has a reputation as a less confrontational figure, had drawn widespread support within Iraq but also from the United States and regional Shi'ite power Iran - two countries which have been at odds for decades.
"The regional and international welcome is a rare positive opportunity ... to solve all (Iraq's) problems, especially political and security ones,” Sistani said in comments which were relayed by his spokesman after weekly Friday prayers in the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala, south of Baghdad.
After its capture of the northern metropolis of Mosul in June, a swift push by the Islamic State to the borders of Iraqi Kurdistan alarmed Baghdad and last week drew the first U.S. air strikes on Iraq since the withdrawal of American troops in 2011.
EU MEETING
European Union foreign ministers were holding an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the region's response to major crises including the conflict in Iraq.
In London, the British government said it would consider "positively" any request for arms from the Kurds to help them battle the militants who have seized much of Iraq,
The United States has asked European countries to supply arms and ammunition to the Kurdish forces, U.S. and European officials have said.
Prime Minister David Cameron has so far said Britain's response would be limited to a humanitarian effort, but London has also been transporting to Kurdish forces military supplies, such as ammunition, being provided by other nations.
"If we were to receive a request then we would consider it positively," a spokeswoman for Cameron said.
Several European governments, including France, Germany, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, have said they will send arms to the Kurds or are considering doing so.
Abadi is in the sensitive process of trying to form a new government in a country beset by daily bombings, abductions and executions. He must rein in Shi'ite militias accused of kidnapping and killing Sunnis and persuading the once dominant Sunni minority that they will have a bigger share of power.
(This refiled version of the story fixes date).
(Additional reporting by Sarah Young in London; Writing by David Stamp; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

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4 Threat Matrix: Iraqi military claims to retake control of 4 cities north of Baghdad



Written by Bill Roggio on August 14, 2014 8:55 PM to 4 Threat Matrix
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Iraqi and Syrian towns and cities seized by the Islamic State and its allies. Map created by Patrick Megahan and Bill Roggio for The Long War Journal. Click to view larger map.

The Iraqi Ministry of Defense today claimed it retook four cities between Baghdad and Samarra from the Islamic State during operations over the past week. From Al Shorfa:

Over the past two weeks, "the army managed to clear four new cities in Salahaddin province -- al-Dhuluiyah, al-Ishaqi, al-Mutassim and Balad -- and is now in full control of them", said army commander in Salahaddin Lt. Gen. Sabah al-Fatlawi.
The army killed and arrested dozens of ISIL fighters in the process, and destroyed large quantities of their weapons and explosives, he said.

There is one problem with this story: no one seems to have been aware that these four cities were under Islamic State or allied forces control. Dhuluiyah has been considered contested, while at times heavy fighting has been reported at Balad and Ishaqi. Islamic State fighters have been launching attacks along the road north of Baghdad in an effort to cut off supplies to Samarra. But none of these cities were considered to be under enemy control.

Either the Iraqi Ministry of Defense is attempting to take credit for gaining ground it never lost, in an effort to bolster its image; or the situation on the road from Baghdad to Samarra has been far worse than reported. Neither scenario is a good sign.

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15 August 2014 Last updated at 07:30 ET
Iraq crisis: Arming Kurds on EU agenda in Brussels
COMMENTS (46)
EU foreign ministers are holding an emergency meeting in Brussels on Friday to discuss plans to arm Iraq's Kurds against an extremist insurgency.
France and the US have already begun to supply weapons to the Kurds, whose Peshmerga fighters are trying to halt an advance by Islamic State militants.
On Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki resigned and conceded power to Haider al-Abadi, Iraq's deputy speaker.
Meanwhile, the governor of Dohuk province has warned of a "genocide".
"We have hundreds of thousands (of refugees). We're going to face an international humanitarian catastrophe because many of these kids and children will die," said Farhad Atrushi.
The UN says over a million Iraqis remain displaced from their homes after IS militants took over large parts of northern Iraq.
'People dying'
The emergency EU meeting was called for by France, whose foreign minister Laurent Fabius criticised the EU for inaction on Iraq.
"When there are people dying... you have to come back from your holidays," he told EU foreign policy chief Baroness Catherine Ashton in a letter earlier this week.
About 20 ministers are discussing EU-wide approval to ship arms to the Kurds and the Iraqi army.
Military aid pledges
The US and France have already started arming Kurdish fighters
The UK says it would "favourably consider" any request for arms from the Kurds
Germany has already promised to provide non-lethal military aid to Iraq's army
The Czech Republic says it is working "on the preparation of military supplies" to the Kurds
The Netherlands said on Thursday that it would also consider helping arm both Kurdish and Iraqi government troops
Several EU countries, as well as the US, have made drops of aid in northern Iraq in the past week.
The US has also engaged in limited airstrikes against IS targets.
The former leader of Britain's Liberal Democrats, Lord Paddy Ashdown, welcomed moves to arm Kurdish fighters but called on western governments to tackle the "underlying issues" in the Middle East.
The governor of Dohuk province in northern Iraq said the US and UK were politically and ethically responsible for helping Iraq.
"They were promising people a stable, democratic, federal, parliamentary, prosperous Iraq, and now one third of Iraq is in the hands of a terrorist state," he told the BBC.
He said that Kurdish authorities needed at least two months and hundreds of millions of dollars to be able to provide shelter for Iraqi refugees.
Maliki resigns
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's resignation on Thursday evening was welcomed by the UN and US.
The resignation brought an end to eight years of often divisive rule, when Mr Maliki's government was accused of favouring the Shia majority.
Prime-minister designate Haider al-Abadi is one of Iraq's most senior politicians, having held several high-profile posts since returning from exile in 2003.
He is regarded by some as a moderate within Mr Maliki's Dawa party, and has shown more of a willingness to compromise than his predecessor.
In a Facebook post, Mr Abadi urged Iraqis to unite in the face of "strong and dangerous challenges". He said he would be prepared to give up his life in defence of the nation.
The change in government comes as the Iraqi army proved unable to stop Islamist fighters from seizing vast areas in northern Iraq.
The offensive by the self-styled Islamic State, a Sunni Muslim jihadist group formerly known as Isis, has triggered a security and humanitarian crisis, driving an estimated 1.2 million Iraqis from their homes.
The UN has declared the situation in the country a "level three emergency", its highest level of humanitarian crisis.
A UN Security Council meeting on Friday is expected to approve a resolution threatening sanctions against any country which finances or supports IS.

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asif iqbal said:

To blame Turkey for ISIS is like blaming Gambia for starting WWII

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delft said:

Turkey has been in financial difficulties for years and is dependent on Saudi lending. That dependence will have made Erdogan change policy from friendship with Syria to enmity. In the circumstances it wasn't really possible to differentiate between the several terrorist organisations. It is not clear that the CIA did so in its training camp(s) in Jordan until some months ago.
Wars often last much longer than expected, think WWI. This one is similar and the damage to the Turkish economy is painful. Its extension to Iraq must be excrusiating. Turkey should change sides. But can it?

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