Shiite militias in Iraq tend to appease, in order to avoid American anger

Shiite militias in Iraq tend to appease, in order to avoid American anger

10-15-2020

The remarkable change in the discourse of the Shiite militias in Iraq regarding the targeting of US interests in Iraq and their tendency to calm down, which resulted in the leaders of those factions working on behalf of Iran perceiving the seriousness of the situation and the extent of the US anger at the repeated harassment of its forces and the headquarters of its embassy in Iraq and their expectation of a violent and resolute response from Washington.

Baghdad – Harakat al-Nujaba militia has absolved itself of targeting diplomatic missions in Iraq, in a position that reflects the fears of the pro-Iranian Shiite militias about the consequences of the recent attacks, some of which targeted US forces on Iraqi soil and their supply convoys, while others targeted the US embassy in Baghdad.

The announcement by the al-Nujaba militia came after the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades announced last Sunday that a group of Iraqi militias had agreed to suspend their missile attacks on US forces, on the condition that the Iraqi government provide a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces from the country.

Iraqi sources said that the militias involved in targeting the US military and diplomatic presence in Iraq had received a strong warning from Iraqi security authorities, who informed them of the extent of American anger over these attacks and that the United States had threatened it with a seizing military response that included all militias and the Popular Mobilization Forces deployed on Iraqi lands.

The speech of the Nujaba militia, led by Akram al-Kaabi, one of the hawks of loyalty to Iran and its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, known for its violent “jihadist” rhetoric, especially when it comes to the United States, carried an unusual turn towards “the logic of the state.”

On Wednesday, the Iraqi News Agency quoted a member of the political council in Harakat al-Nujaba, Firas al-Yasser, as saying that “the twelfth brigade is linked to the popular crowd and is under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mustafa al-Kazimi.”

Recently there has been news in Iraq of divisions among the Shiite militias regarding the position on targeting US interests and their potential consequences. While some factions insist on continuing harassment and targeting of those interests, other factions are acting to calm down for fear that their fighters, who are spread widely and without air cover, in a number of regions of Iraq, will be hit hard From the aviation of the US-led coalition, as well as for fear that its senior leaders and the politicians associated with it would be subject to severe US sanctions.

Al-Yasser said, “This thorny issue is intended to try to find a gap between the forces of resistance and the idea of ​​the existence of the popular crowd and this overlap between the two ideas.”

He emphasized that the “resistance factions” had previously announced that their association was morally with the movements, and this link was broken since the first day of the end of the battles (against ISIS) in 2017. عام

And last Sunday, Muhammad Muhi, a spokesman for the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades, told Reuters, “The factions have given a conditional truce directed at the Iraqi government in particular because it is concerned with implementing the House of Representatives decision,” which was issued at the beginning of this year after the Iranian Quds Force commander and his assistant in Iraq, Abu Mahdi, was killed by a blow. American air forces near Baghdad International Airport, and provides for the removal of American forces from Iraq.

Iraqi sources said earlier, that the debate has intensified in an unprecedented manner during the recent period between advocates of continuing to target foreign interests, and those who are concerned about its political, economic and military consequences during the current period of great complexity due to the bad financial situation of Iraq and the one who is sympathetic to the Corona epidemic crisis, after the leak of news about The United States threatened to close its embassy in Baghdad and withdraw its diplomatic mission from Iraq.

Part of that discussion came out into the open when Shiite politicians known to be hostile to the United States expressed their objection to the targeting of diplomatic missions in the country, among them Muqtada al-Sadr, who owns an armed militia named Saraya al-Salam, and Hadi al-Amiri, the leader of the Badr militia.

Al-Yasser denied the Nujaba militia’s involvement in armed action outside the popular crowd, saying that “what remains of the Nujaba Movement is a popular mass movement, and therefore those present, whether in the cultural file or other files and even the political file, are part of a popular movement.”

He stated that “any person who carries a national concern, believes that the United States does not look at the sovereignty of Iraq at all, and this episode is intended to promote the attack on diplomatic missions.”

And he indicated that “all the resistance factions until this moment have not adopted any strike on the embassy,” stressing “the presence of information indicating that this targeting is programmed and comes to stir up public opinion against the resistance factions and the popular crowd.”

Al-Yasser also stressed “the importance of protecting missions that deal within agreements and respect the Iraqi law and constitution,” stressing “support and support for the presence of diplomatic missions as well as support for their protection, in addition to the importance of building bridges with all countries, and this is understandable from us in the vision of the movement and the vision of the resistance factions.” .

Those familiar with the discussions taking place within some Iraqi circles say that some of those loyal to Iran in Iraq believe that Tehran is exaggerating their use in its struggle against the United States without the slightest consideration of their interests and the dangers that lie in wait for them as a result of the possible American anger.

The leaders of the armed Shiite factions, including those affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, which after their participation in the war against ISIS transformed into an official security institution nominally subject to the Iraqi political leadership, realize that their forces are not immune to the airstrikes that they have already tried more than once, especially since they are spread on the ground. Without air cover.

There were conflicting reports recently that a Hashd force had been subjected to an air strike in Anbar Province, western Iraq. Iraqi and Arab media reported that the fighters of the Ansar Allah Al-Loyal Movement, which is affiliated with the crowd, had been bombed by an unknown plane near the border with Syria.

And in an manifestation of real fears of an American targeting the Popular Mobilization factions, the Iraqi Hezbollah returned about twenty-four hours after announcing a truce targeting American interests in Iraq, threatening to cut it off if the crowd were exposed to what the party described as “treachery,” whether before. US or Iraqi forces.

The military spokesman for the party, Abu Ali al-Askari, said in a statement that “the Iraqi resistance factions confirm that the conditional opportunity given to the enemy will be canceled without return, if he betrayed any person in the popular crowd or the military resistance, political or popular.”

rawabetcenter.com