Ally By Default
"All embassies are welcome, as long as they do not interfere in Iraqi affairs and government formation. Iraq is for Iraqis only."
"From now on, arms must be restricted in the hands of the state. The use of weapons shall be prevented outside of the state's framework."
"It is time for the people to live in peace, without occupation, terrorism, militias, kidnapping and fear."
Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric, political leader
"No country wants forces that are stronger than its army."
"That [2,000 U.S.forces] is labeling or classifying the troops as trainers and not fighters [by mutual agreement with Washington and Baghdad]."
"The decision should be revisited again and decided by [Iraq's] Parliament and the government."
Dhia al-Assadi, al-Sadr aide
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| Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on a billboard in Baghdad's Sadr City
district - a stronghold of his movement. June 21, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed
Saad |
Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's father lived in Iran for decades, exiled from his native Iraq during the Sunni minority reign of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, when the country's Shiite population was the underdog. His son returned to his native Iraq in opposition to the presence of U.S. and allied troops with the invasion of the country ostensibly for the purpose of neutering it from the 'weapons of mass destruction' amassed by Saddam, threatening regional stability. At a time when the-then U.S. administration contended there were links between Iraq and al-Qaeda.
With that invasion ancient animosities were unleashed, leading to Sunni and Shiite groups launching covert night-time attacks in neghbourhoods specific to each of the major branches of Islam leading to mass slaughters. The Shiite cleric played no part in these sectarian conflicts; instead he launched a militia to target the presence of U.S. troops in the country which often led to deadly clashes. U.S. forces ended up considering the Mahdi Army militia battling them as serious an issue as their clashes with al-Qaeda.
The U.S. forces planned to assassinate the Shiite cleric as a threat to their presence in Iraq, but never managed to succeed. Now that Iraq is finally settling down with a new government, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Iraq is struggling to separate its sovereignty from Iranian interference. Iranian Shiite militias which roamed Iraq as Iranian-backed functionaries like Lebanon's Hezbollah are now non-grata.
As a result of the evolving political situation in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr's political aims have been rewarded by an electorate that views him as a trusted Iraqi patriot with no interest in establishing himself as a commanding power, but rather an influence in establishing a working government aspiring toward the country's future prosperity and security. Gaining 73 seats in the national Parliament, the Sadrists have the largest single bloc in the 329-seat Parliament.
In a recent speech he referenced Iranian-backed militias, challenging in power and numbers the country's official security forces, that will be facing disarming any militias not under government control, including his own militia. Iran's proxy militia Hezbollah in Lebanon is more powerful, better armed than Lebanon's national military, answering to no one but Iranian orders. An obvious contraindication to Iraq's plans to stabilize and ensure its future independence and development prospects.
Although initially invited by Baghdad to have its troops remain in Iraq, the U.S. has agreed on withdrawal of all its combat troops by year's end, those currently deployed as trainers to remain for the time being. The former defender of the Shiite majority in Iraq, Mr. al-Sadr now is making his peace with the country's Sunni population who once comprised the elite, the politics, the military in the country, under Saddam Hussein.
Now, Christians, Kurds, Sunnis and other minorities are to be recognized as equal members of Iraqi society. Outreach to other Middle Eastern nations led by Sunni majorities is meant to ultimately result in a change in the country's once-dysfunctional political system which highlighted party loyalty with sectarian divisions reflecting senior government appointments.
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| Sadrists are poised to be the biggest winners in elections to Iraq’s
parliament (above) in October. Iraqi Parliament Media Office/Handout via
REUTERS |
Labels: Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Iran Influence, Iraq, Shiite Militias, United States
Iran's Shiite Axis
We expressed our deep concern at the rise in the number and sophistication of attacks against diplomatic premises in Iraq, including rocket and [improvised explosive device] attacks."
"We noted that these attacks endanger not only foreign embassies but also Iraqis, as evidenced by the tragic death of a family near Baghdad international Airport following a rocket strike on Monday."
International envoys in Iraq
"The big challenge is still Iranian interference. They're really testing the current government and prime minister, to be exact. He's really tried to stand firm and be strong, but he's between a rock and a hard place."
"But let's be frank, it's not just about [ISIL]. It's about Iranian expansion into Iraq. It's about Iranian expansion into other parts of the Middle East."
"At the end of t he day, like it or not, even though we've tried to position ourselves as being different from the Americans, we are seen as the same. So we are vulnerable."
Bessma Momani, Middle East expert, University of Waterloo, Ontario
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| The US Embassy compound is pictured in
Baghdad's Green Zone on May 20, 2019, in the Iraqi capital. A Katyusha
rocket crashed the previous day into Baghdad's Green Zone, which houses
government offices and embassies including the US mission, Iraqi
security services said in a statement. Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via
Getty Images.
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The six-year-old war against the Islamic State group that brought Western troops under the umbrella of the United Nations, and led by the United States, still struggles to control the remnants of the Islamic State that continues its violent predation within Syria and Iraq, and still threatens Western nations by the force of its persuasive jihad impact on impressionable Islamist recruits living in Europe and North America. Iran's undeniable influence in Iraq, both Shiite-led nations, has created a diplomatic fissure between Iraq and the United States.
The result of which has been escalating tensions between Iraq and the United States, a fallout of the political challenges between Washington and Tehran. A series of rocket attacks launched by Iranian-backed militias targeting U.S. diplomatic and military facilities has created an untenable situation, with the U.S. warning it is prepared to pull its troops out of Iraq and to shut down its huge embassy complex. An attack on Wednesday hit a base in the Kurdistan region, home to American troops, along with a number of Canadian special forces soldiers.
Initially, the U.S. had reported rockets fired at the coalition base next to the main airport in Irbil failed to reach the facility, but that was contradicted by later reports suggesting that several had landed within the compound, though no Canadian Armed Forces personnel were injured. "The recent attack on a military base in Irbil did not affect coalition forces", reported Jessica Lamirande, spokeswoman for the Canadian Defence Department. "All CAF members are safe and accounted for and we continue to monitor the situation closely with our allies and partners in the region."
The Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group comprised mostly of Iran-backed Shiite militias, part of Iraq's security forces, were identified by Kurdish authorities as being responsible for the attacks. Responding to that accusation the Popular Mobilization Forces stated it would be investigating the incident that just happened to coincide with Canada's ambassador to Iraq along with counterparts from over a dozen other nations meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi over concerns relating to a number of other attacks on diplomatic missions in the country. Attributed to Iran-loyal militias.
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| A member of an Iraqi Shiite paramilitary
group helps a fellow protester holding a placard denouncing the United
States climb on the outer wall of the US Embassy in the Green Zone
during a
demonstration, Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 31, 2019. Photo by AHMAD
AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images.
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These are the militias that were formed in 2014 in the general push to stop the caliphate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from any further expansion into Syria and Iraq. Al-Kadhimi had condemned the attacks, insisting they threatened Iraq's stability, promising to hold the perpetrators to account. International observers question how much power is left to the government of Iraq to crack down on the militias in light of Iran's total influence in the country given its links to the paramilitary groups as well as members of the Iraqi government.
Labels: Canada, Iran, Iraq, ISIL, Military Attacks, Mission, Shiite Militias, United States
