Washington Trying to Kill Two Birds With One Stone With Mosul Operation

© REUTERS / Ruairidh Villar/Save the ChildrenPeople walk along a street as smoke rises near Qayyarah, south of Mosul, Iraq
People walk along a street as smoke rises near Qayyarah, south of Mosul, Iraq - Sputnik International
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The operation aimed at driving Daesh out of Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, is meant to help the Democrats achieve two goals: help Hillary Clinton win the upcoming presidential election and create additional challenges for Damascus, Moscow and Tehran, Analyst Elena Suponina told RIA Novosti.

Suponina of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies maintained that the operation for Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, could have started in September, but was postponed due to technical difficulties and political considerations.

"Political motives clearly include a wish to time the operation so that it would coincide with the presidential election in the US. It is extremely important for US President Barack Obama to show that he achieved at least some success in the Middle East. The only victory to date was the Iranian nuclear deal, but Americans [reached the agreement] thanks to their European and Russian partners," she said.

An Iraqi Federal Police vehicle passes through a checkpoint in Qayara, some 50 kilometers south of Mosul, Iraq, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016. - Sputnik International
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The Democrats and Hillary Clinton, the Russian analyst added, need a victory in Mosul to show voters at home that they are capable of delivering when it comes to foreign policy objectives.

Andrei Suzdaltsev, the deputy head of the Faculty of World Economy and International Relations at the Moscow-based Higher School of Economics, shared these sentiments, saying that Washington had deliberately waited until late October.

"The weather is not particularly good at the moment. This is all linked to the [presidential] election. This is what they had in their sights. This is what they were waiting for," he said.

The analyst was convinced that the outcome of the battle for Mosul will have a major impact on who moves into the White House on January 20, 2017. He said that foreign policy, unlike domestic affairs, plays a major role in the upcoming election, something "highly unusual for the US in the last three decades."

Peshmerga forces near Mosul, Iraq - Sputnik International
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"The standoff between Russia and the United States has been intense," Suzdaltsev said, adding that the Democrats appear to be ready to use "not even a local, but a major conflict to propel Clinton into the White House."

Suponina further said that helping the Democrats score points is not the only goal that Washington has pursued in Mosul. She noted that terrorists pushed out of the second largest city in Iraq could then move to Syria.

"In other words, the operation in Mosul will help to kill several birds with one stone. Not only will it help achieve success for the Democrats ahead of the elections, [the implications of the offensive] will also create additional challenges for the Syrian government and its allies, including Iran and Russia," she suggested.

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