Wednesday Evening Iraq Parliament News Highlights 8-24-22

How Does The United States View Muqtada Al-Sadr?

BAGHDAD/Obebe: Two days after protesters stormed the Iraqi parliament in July, a group called "The Companions of the Cave" released a statement reflecting the political collapse in Iraq.

On August 1, the group said that "the US embassy, ​​the British embassy and other NATO countries" had provoked unrest among Iraq's Shiites, and "all their embassies and bases will be targeted" in return.

The issued statement shed light on many factors influencing Iraq, where the country's main Shiite blocs are locked in a bitter power struggle after the collapse of 10 months of talks aimed at forming a government.

The confrontation is between the leader of the Sadrist movement Muqtada al-Sadr, who emerged as the biggest winner in the October Iraqi elections, against a coalition of Shiite parties.

The crisis escalated in June after al-Sadr withdrew the parliament's bloc of representatives and asked his supporters to storm Iraq's Green Zone, the country's isolated center of power.

For more than two weeks, thousands of Sadrists have camped outside parliament as their mercurial leader calls for an overhaul of the country's political system, new elections and possibly a new constitution.

Far from demonstrating Washington's ability to lead events in Iraq, analysts and former US officials say, the current crisis signals a waning US power and interest in the country.

Douglas Silliman, president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC and a former US ambassador to Iraq, told Middle East Eyes.

Washington is certainly less prominent in Iraq today than it has been in decades. While 2,500 US troops remain in Iraq, the Pentagon's combat mission to defeat ISIS late last year shifted to an "advise and assist" role in support of the Iraqi military. This low profile extended beyond the martial realm.

Iraq hosted only two high-profile US government visits in the months following the country's October elections. Meanwhile, the sprawling US embassy has been staffed since 2019, when the US ordered all "non-emergency" staff to leave Iraq amid security threats.

"US involvement in the Iraqi political process has been almost completely absent," Jonathan Lord, a former Iraqi director at the Department of Defense and current director of the Middle East Security Program at CNAS, a Washington think tank, told Middle East Eyes.

Some consider the past 10 months a missed opportunity for the United States. Washington welcomed with great concern what was generally seen as a peaceful election, albeit with a record low turnout, as the large political parties demonstrated their strength.

But there were some signs of progress. The United States supported changes to a law that would make it easier for independent and reformist candidates to be elected. The move came in response to the October protests that swept Iraq in 2019.

Some independent candidates were voted on, but al-Sadr made the biggest gains under the new regime.

"The election result was very satisfactory for Washington," Silliman said, however. "The United States saw the elections as a relatively good sign that Iraq was moving toward more stable institutional politics and producing more moderate governments."

There is little love between the United States and al-Sadr, an Iranian-educated cleric who led an armed resistance movement against the American occupation. But in recent years, Sadr has described himself as an Iraqi nationalist. It is seen by some in Washington as a potential hedge against Tehran, despite concerns about his thirst for power and his goals for a theocracy.

“The United States sees al-Sadr as a fickle nationalist with a huge base. He is seen as someone who needs to be directed in a direction beneficial to the United States, and that is what the United States has tried to do, and will continue to do." Laheeb Hegel, Iraq analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Middle East Eyes.

The United States has limited scope for dialogue with al-Sadr. While the Sadrists in the Iraqi government deal with Western officials, they refuse to speak directly to the United States. Communication is left to the intermediaries.

Analysts and former US officials said that Washington's main political effort in Iraq after the October elections revolved around trying to mediate talks between the KDP and the Kurdistan Party to agree on a consensus candidate for the presidency.

Iraq operates under a sectarian power-sharing system imposed after the US occupation. The president of Iraq is always Kurdish, the prime minister is a Shiite Arab, and the speaker of parliament is a Sunni Arab.

"The reason we haven't seen a lot of talk about the United States in the political process in Iraq is simply because they don't have a big role, and they didn't want to," Hagel said.

After the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraq descended into civil war. Then ISIS invaded large swathes of the country. The economy also faltered.

About 90 percent of the Iraqi government's revenue comes from oil sales. Private sector growth suffers from anemia. Endemic corruption means that ordinary Iraqis have seen little respite from high crude oil prices, while food and other living costs have risen, exacerbated in part by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Translator from Middle East Eye    https://almasalah.com/archives/13131

Washington Confirms Its Aspiration To Strengthen Cooperation With Iraq

Baghdad / Obelisk: The President of the Republic, Barham Salih, discussed, on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, with the US Ambassador to Iraq, Elena Romanowsky, a number of issues of common concern.

The media office of the Presidency of the Republic stated in a statement, "President Saleh received at the Peace Palace in Baghdad, the American ambassador to Iraq, Mrs. Alina Romanowski, and during the meeting, emphasis was placed on the depth of the relationship that unites Iraq and the United States and its development in various fields for the interest of the two friendly countries and peoples,

And cooperation in the field of combating terrorism and extremism, easing tensions in the region through dialogue, confronting economic fluctuations, protecting the environment and adapting to climate changes, which have become an existential crisis, as Iraq and the region are considered one of the countries most affected by the climate crisis.

He added, "Ambassador Romanowsky affirmed the United States' aspiration to enhance cooperation with Iraq and support a secure and stable Iraq with its pivotal and important role in the region."

https://almasalah.com/archives/13118

Washington Comments On The "Baghdad Unrest" And Sends Two Messages

Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, the American embassy in Baghdad commented on what it described as "the unrest" around the Supreme Judicial Council, while sending a message to the parties to the political escalation, and the same to the demonstrators.

A statement by the embassy, ​​posted on its official pages on social media, followed by Shafak News Agency: "We are closely monitoring reports of unrest today in Baghdad, about the Supreme Judicial Council."

The US embassy urged all parties to "remain calm, refrain from violence, and resolve any political differences in a peaceful manner based on the Iraqi constitution," calling on the demonstrators to "respect the procedures and properties of Iraqi government institutions that belong to the Iraqi people and serve their interests."

Dozens of Sadrists' supporters went earlier this morning to the Supreme Judicial Council and began erecting the sit-in marquee in front of the council's building in a new development of escalation that affected the judiciary after the legislative authority in light of a stifling political crisis the country is going through.

As a result, the judiciary in Iraq decided, earlier on Tuesday, to suspend its work in the country, following a sit-in by supporters of the Sadrist movement in front of the Supreme Judicial Council, demanding the dissolution of the Iraqi parliament.   LINK

Will "Al-Sadr's Letters To The Judiciary" Resolve The Deciding Session On The Claim Of Dissolving The Iraqi Parliament?

August 24, 2022   The judiciary is expected to decide on the request to dissolve parliament submitted by the Sadrist movement (Ahmed Al-Rubai/AFP)

The leader of the Sadrist movement , Muqtada al-Sadr , whose supporters carried out, yesterday, Tuesday, a sit-in in front of the Supreme Judicial Council inside the Green Zone, in the center of the capital, Baghdad, which lasted for several hours, put the judicial authority on the line, one week before a scheduled session of the Federal Court, which is expected to decide on a request The parliament presented by the current, which did not hide its fears of procrastination, was dissolved due to what it described as "the judiciary being subjected to pressure. "

The Federal Court had announced, last Wednesday, the postponement of the case to the 30th of this month, in an attempt to gain time, in the hope that the political forces would reach a solution to the crisis, which prompted Al-Sadr to wave what he called “other options”, declaring his rejection of any dialogue with Iran's "Coordination Framework" alliance.

Yesterday, al-Sadr directed his supporters to withdraw from the judiciary building, but he directed them to keep their tents and not raise them from the front of the building, in a clear message to the possibility of returning to the sit-in in the event that the court did not resolve the file, especially since those sit-in tents gave them names for crimes and violations It took place in the country over the past years,

and the judiciary did not investigate them, including the “Sit-in of the Speicher Martyrs”, “the people of Mosul”, “returning the looted funds”, “accounting the corrupt”, “without bias”, “dismissing the corrupt”, “separation of the Public Prosecution” , "An independent and impartial judiciary", and other titles.

In this tense atmosphere, which was countered by the escalation of the " coordinating framework " alliance , its speech, calling on its supporters to be highly prepared and fully prepared for the next step against those he called "the kidnappers of the state", to restore its prestige and its powers, a prominent member of the Sadrist movement confirmed that "Al-Sadr wanted the sit-in." To send a letter to the judiciary, and that message has arrived.”

Arabic reports

Iraq: Attempts to persuade al-Sistani to intervene to prevent the crisis from deteriorating

He explained to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, on condition of anonymity, that "keeping the tents in front of the judiciary building is an indication that the return is close again," noting that "the judiciary may not be able to postpone the case again, due to the aggravation of the crisis, but his decision It will be a turning point in the current political crisis."

In Iraq, attention is directed towards the judiciary, which cannot disassociate itself from politics, especially since its decisions have a significant impact on exacerbating or dismantling the political crisis. In this context, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Hoshyar Zebari, stressed the need for the judiciary to be "impartial, and not use double standards."

Yesterday, Tuesday, Zebari said, commenting in a tweet on the events, that "the sit-in of the Sadrist movement in front of the Supreme Judicial Council, and then its peaceful withdrawal, delivered the required message. by two standards, and to stand at the same distance in action and not in words, for the constitution is the reference.”

As for the political parties associated with the "Coordination Framework" coalition, they issue warnings of "slipping into chaos" in case the judiciary is not respected. Politician Baqir Jabr Solagh Al-Zubaidi said, in a tweet, that "the Federal Supreme Court, with its judges and expertise, is the safety valve of the political process, and any attempt to attack it will enter the country with major problems and crises that cannot be resolved, and the country may slip into great chaos..

All partners have accepted Politicians by decisions of the Supreme Court, and we call on everyone to respect the supreme judicial authority in the country, which rules according to the articles of the constitution, which everyone participated in writing, and the people accepted it through a referendum.   LINK

Reuters Reveals Details Of Qaani's Secret Meeting With Al-Sadr.. 30 Hot Minutes

Baghdad - people

A report published by "Reuters" highlighted the details of the visit of the Iranian Quds Force commander, Ismail Qaani, to the home of the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, in order to discuss the future of Iraqi politics and Iran's dominant role in it.

According to the report published by "Reuters", Wednesday, and followed by "Nass" (August 24, 2022), the meeting took place in al-Sadr's house, and the second party in it was the commander of the Quds Force, the wing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards responsible for military and intelligence operations outside the borders used by the regime. In Tehran to extend his hegemony abroad, he is charged by Tehran with maintaining its influence in Iraq.

Below Is A Portion Of The Text Of The Report:

According to four Iraqi and Iranian officials familiar with the details of the half-hour interview in the city of Najaf, al-Sadr received the Iranian leader with a "clear coldness."    

Muqtada al-Sadr used to wear a black and white keffiyeh of southern Iraq on his shoulders and put on a brown cloak, in a deliberate local fashion that contrasted with the completely black clothes and turban that he usually wears on public occasions.

Al-Sadr's clothing, the officials said, was conveying a nationalist political message that summed it up: Iraq, as a sovereign Arab state, would make its own way, without interference from its Iranian neighbor, despite the sectarian ties between the two countries.    

Al-Sadr challenged the Iranian leader, according to one of the officials, and said: "What is the relationship of Iraqi politics with you? ... We do not want you to interfere." 

The Iranian government did not respond to requests sent to its foreign ministry and delegation to the United Nations for comment. Sadr's office also did not respond to questions from Reuters.

Moqtada al-Sadr, the officials said, was overwhelmed with confidence after a string of political gains made by his fledgling Iraqi alliance (Save a Homeland) against Iran and his Iraqi supporters, who see Tehran as their best ally.

General Qaani Has Been Waiting For The Meeting For Months

The Iranian leader was apprehensive, people familiar with the visit said. He kept seeking to meet for months, and he kept visiting Iraq, and on one occasion he prayed openly at the grave of al-Sadr's father.

  Iranian officials quoted Qaani as saying that if Muqtada al-Sadr included Tehran's allies in any coalition, Iran would consider al-Sadr the main political figure in Iraq.

  Al-Sadr has remained steadfast, stressing in a tweet after the meeting his commitment to a government free of foreign interference. In the written message, which was scanned on Twitter, he said: "Neither Eastern nor Western... a national majority government."

  Muqtada al-Sadr's Disappointment

Muqtada al-Sadr's efforts to counter and defeat Iran's maneuvers only prompted it and its proxies to launch a political and military counterattack, including missile strikes on potential allies that al-Sadr was courting: the Kurds in northern Iraq and officials in the UAE.

Disappointment with Muqtada al-Sadr was so high due to the stalemate and Iranian pressure that in June he ordered his current 73 MPs, nearly a quarter of the parliament, to withdraw from the assembly. In July and August, he led thousands of his supporters in a long sit-in at the council.

  Fears Of Bloodshed In Iraq

Muqtada al-Sadr's diet worries many who fear that the current tension will fuel more unrest and possibly more violence inside Iraq and across the Middle East.

In statements to "Reuters", the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said: "If we want stability in the Middle East, this will not be achieved as long as there is general turmoil and competitions for power in Iraq, which will then become an arena for regional competitions. ".

“Al-Sadr can lead us to a Shiite war against the Shiites,” a commander in an Iran-allied militia in southern Iraq said of the February meeting.

To better understand the instability sweeping Iraq, Reuters spoke to more than 40 Iraqi and Iranian officials, politicians, foreign diplomats and local residents. Some officials, including those who described the meeting between Muqtada al-Sadr and Qaani, spoke on condition of anonymity.    

The news agency also reviewed dozens of government documents detailing judicial decisions, government spending, and corruption investigations, and moved across the impoverished south, where most Shiites live, and where residents say the crisis is exacerbating deep-rooted problems with graft and institutional neglect.

“There is a political battle going on in Baghdad, and we are stuck in the middle of it,” said Walid Al-Dahamat, a teacher in the poor southern town of Amarah and brother of a local activist who was killed by unidentified gunmen in 2019.

'Expect A Lot Of Hardship'

Before Sadr and Qaani met, some of Iran's allies decided to express their displeasure with any move away from Tehran.

  On February 2, an unknown faction based in southern Iraq launched drone strikes on the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

  The faction that bears the name (The Righteous Promise Brigades) said that the strikes came in response to the UAE's intervention in Iraq and Yemen, which is witnessing a raging civil war between regional agents led by Saudi Arabia and Iran.

  The UAE said at the time that it had intercepted the strikes. But the attack scared the Emiratis, according to an Iraqi government official, a Western diplomat, and two Iraqi Sunni leaders who worked with UAE envoys in coalition talks. The UAE has sent officials to Tehran and Baghdad to calm the tension.

Jubouri, a Sunni leader who participated in efforts to form a government, noted that the Emiratis' commitment to Sadr had wavered. Al-Sadr met and met me the following week.

  Three days after the tense interview, several of his advisors told Reuters that Muqtada al-Sadr had summoned his aides to his house. They added that he was clearly frustrated by the escalation of tension, and even returned to smoking, an old habit he had given up and never practiced in public places.

  As one of the advisors, whose account of the meeting coincided with those of two other senior Sadrists familiar with the meeting, said: “His Eminence al-Sayyid told the attendees thus: Our opponents now are not only those who oppose a national majority government, but also our opponent now is the neighboring country, so they expected a lot. There will be difficulties and obstacles in the coming days, and we must all rely on God to face the enormous pressures imposed on us now and in the coming days.” https://www.nasnews.com/view.php?cat=92524