Iraq. Deputies and militias demand to seek help from Putin
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi finds himself in a difficult position. On the one hand, he has the Americans, who invested $2011 billion in the Iraqi army alone and only after their official withdrawal in 20. And those who demolished Hussein for the wrong reason kept an occupation contingent in the country for 9 years and lost 4,5 thousand soldiers during this time, in order to now give Iraq into the wrong hands. Moreover, into the hands of its long-time enemy Iran, this “black pearl” in the Axis of Evil.
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Just a few years ago, US intervention in this country was on the agenda, and curbing its influence in the region is still considered one of the top national security priorities. And now in Baghdad, with the direct participation of Iran, and even Russia, a center has been created to coordinate the military efforts of these powers. When Saddam was alive, this would have been unthinkable.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and US President Barack Hussein Obama.
Russian planes secretly arrived in Syria through Iraq after the United States' European allies closed their skies to them. On Putin's birthday, Russian missiles fly from the Caspian Sea to targets in Syria through Iraq. The commander of the elite Iranian al-Quds brigade from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is photographed in Iraq against the backdrop of American equipment transferred to the Iraqi army, looking as if he had come to inspect it. Which, in principle, is not far from the truth.
Shiite militias fire at IS positions near the village of al-Fata, northeast of Baiji, Salah al-Din province. October 18, 2015
Against this background, pressure is growing on al-Abadi both from his political allies in the ruling coalition and from representatives of the Shiite militia, on whose shoulders, after the virtual defeat of the Iraqi army in the summer of 2014, the brunt of the war with the Islamic State fell. Both of them demand an immediate official appeal to Moscow with a request to start bombing ISIS in Iraq as well. At the same time, the Prime Minister is under pressure not only on the political sidelines, but also on the street. Not long ago, pro-Iranian Shiite forces gathered thousands of people in Tahrir, the main square of Baghdad, expressing dissatisfaction with corruption and lack of reform. This was a clear message to the government: “if you interfere with rapprochement with Iran and Russia, you will have to deal with the Maidan.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Iraqi Prime Minister al-Abadi himself would be happy to turn to Russia, something he has already spoken about cautiously. He is also dissatisfied with the low effectiveness of US aviation actions against the Islamic State in Iraq in comparison with the living example of the actions of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria. And then the new Canadian prime minister, an environmentalist and a supporter of the immediate legalization of marijuana, announced that Canada was withdrawing its air force from the international coalition against the Islamic State.
According to Iraqi parliament members quoted by Reuters, al-Abadi is under “enormous pressure.” Moreover, this pressure comes from both sides. Last week, members of the parliamentary coalition officially addressed the prime minister with a demand to request Moscow's help. A senior Shiite politician, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Reuters that “Abadi said at the meeting that now is not the right time to include the Russians in the fight [against IS] because it will only complicate the situation with the Americans and may have undesirable consequences, even for the long term of relations with America.”
Prime Minister al-Abadi is under 'immense pressure'
Yesterday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford visited Baghdad and said that the United States was able to obtain assurances from Iraq that the government would not seek direct military support from Putin. However, the general did not specify how long those who gave such guarantees would remain in power, and what would happen to Iraq if they did not last long.
General Dunford passes the physical fitness standards.
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