“Threaten them with their money”: Savaya receives advice on the weaknesses of Iraqi politicians
“Threaten them with their money”: Savaya receives advice on the weaknesses of Iraqi politicians
2025-12-27 01:10
Shafaq News – Special Translation
The Middle East Monitor website offered advice to the US Special Envoy to Iraq, Mark Savaya, that if he wants to succeed in his Iraqi mission and survive what the report called the “theater of illusions” represented by Baghdad, he should scrutinize who is making money.
After the London-based website pointed out that Savaya came to his position as a reward for his loyalty, and not through hardening his resolve through Middle Eastern events and calculations, it noted that he comes to the den of wolves armed with a smile and an outstretched hand, but his experience is shallow and his mandate is to dismantle the Popular Mobilization Forces and cut the strong bond of loyalty that connects Baghdad to Tehran, in order to pull Iraq back into the sunlight from the darkness of Iran.
The report, translated by Shafaq News Agency, said that Savaya will walk through a maze of deception, where every door in front of him is a trap. It added that the leaders he will deal with have overcome dictatorships, invasions, coups, sanctions, revolutions, and wars, and buried their enemies. They speak cunningly and will mislead him by drowning him in unimportant details. It noted that they are skilled at camouflage and that their civility is merely a sword covered in silk, and that he will have to identify the twin forces behind their actions in order to understand them.
The report continued, saying: “These are not patriots, but rather a coterie of greed. They do not worship ideology, but rather power. They do not cling to faith, but rather to wealth. They are not ministers and parliamentarians, but rather leaders of a league wearing government clothes. They lead militia groups, order kidnappings, and silence journalists.” It added that they “have been looting Iraq since 2003, and they feed on a wounded lion like hyenas.”
The report said that, like all criminals, they “made one major mistake: they left a financial trail.”
The report explained that their wealth is not in Baghdad, but rather their money is hidden in vaults in Switzerland, in Iranian banks, in shell companies, in offshore accounts, and in real estate in Europe, North America, and within the United States, noting that the “Panama Papers” scandal contributed to lifting the veil and to the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control tracking them.
The report urged Savaya to use the weapon of “the power of fear” against these people because they fear poverty and bankruptcy, not troops and bombs, if he wanted his mission to succeed.
The report outlined this proposed scenario, with the author addressing Savaya: “Sit before them, smile diplomatically, and present them with a document granting the United States government full legal authority to investigate, trace, and seize any asset, account, or investment in their names, the names of their children, or the names of those in their inner circle.” He continued, “Tell them this document means nothing if they are truly innocent. Watch their hands tremble, watch their masks break, and those who are honest will sign. But the corrupt will stall, and they will erupt in anger at the sudden infringement upon their sovereignty over their ill-gotten gains.”
He added, “These men are not motivated by dignity or belief. It is the fear of losing everything they have stolen that motivates them.”
The report stated that “money is only one of their weapons; their second weapon is deception. They are experts in smiles, hugs, and schemes. They are a group of promises and betrayals, and they practice dissimulation,” noting that this does not represent theology or science, but rather “a sacred art of lying,” and every handshake is worthless.
The report continued, saying, “They will obstruct him, and stifle him with delays until he gets tired and defeated,” adding that “we must remember that the Iraqi tragedy did not arise only in a state of chaos, but rather in the collaboration between cynical foreigners and opportunistic Iraqis, and between external power and internal treachery.”
The report argued that Savaya was not sent to deal with a democratic entity, but rather with a market where loyalty is a commodity, where alliances can be auctioned off, and where patriotism can be faked. It added that “if Savaya wants to dismantle the Popular Mobilization Forces, and if he wants to destroy Tehran’s grip, then he must harness the one thing these men fear, which is money, not truth, not principles, not justice.”
The report concluded by addressing Savaya, saying, “Follow the money. Seize it. Threaten, use it, and only then will they bow down. Only then will they surrender. Only then will the empire of thieves tremble.” It continued, “Follow the money, and never stop until their world collapses.”
shafaq.com
