Iraqis to the United States: What Part of "Go Home" Don't You Understand?
Even amongst Iraq's more pro-US factions, the calls for "Yankee go home"
have grown increasingly louder.
by Steven Sahiounie
January 09th, 2020
By Steven Sahiounie
Iranian forces launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles against two
military bases housing US troops in Iraq early hours of Wednesday morning.
The al-Assad airbase in western Iraq was hit by 17 missiles, and 5 targeted
at a base in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil. No US casualties were
immediately reported.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called the attack a "slap in
the face" of the US, and observers seem to question whether the attack was
designed to kill or inflict casualties, or was it carefully orchestrated to
produce closure to a situation which could have escalated into a regional or
perhaps world war. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said he was
informed of the attack by Iran ahead of time, which acted as a safety valve
after he, in turn, informed US commanders.
Iraqi militias may now begin attacks of revenge for the US assassination of
the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who died alongside
Soleimani in the drone strike on Friday. Iraqi militia leader Qais
al-Khazali said today his group's retaliation should be "no less than the
size of the Iranian response."
Al-Muhandis was the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an
Iraqi militia group that is an official component of the Iraqi armed forces.
Previously, the US had attacked Iraqi PMF troops in Qaim and killed 24 Iraqi
soldiers and wounded dozens more. The Iraqi military, militias, and
government consider the recent US attacks on Iraqi troops and leaders on
Iraqi soil as an act of aggression and more than enough reason to request
the US military leave Iraq.
U.S. Defence Secretary Mark Esper, said Monday the United States "has made
no decision whatsoever to leave Iraq," seemingly oblivious to the fact the
Iraqi parliament voted on Sunday to oust 5,200 US troops. Esper has
repeatedly reaffirmed that the U.S. was not pulling troops out of Iraq.
The US has around 5,000 troops deployed in Iraq, with plans to send in
another 3,800 American paratroopers, and an additional 4,000 troops that may
be sent. US forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011, but returned in 2014 at the
invitation of the Iraqi government to fight ISIS; however, that fight is
over, and Trump angered the Iraqi government when he said the only reason he
was leaving troops in Iraq was to watch Iran. There were anti-US sentiments
brewing in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, which perceived the US military to
be an occupation force, and unwelcomed, but after the Trump statement about
his main mission in Iraq, the calls for "Yankee Go Home" grew louder and
included groups who had not previously called for the ouster. The US
military has admitted they have sidelined work against ISIS to focus on
self-protection of troops.
United States Iraq
Iraqis gather during a funeral procession for Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an
Iraqi Popular Mobilization Front commander in Basra, Iraq, Jan. 7, 2020.
Photo | AP
PM Abdul-Mahdi asked parliament on Sunday to take "urgent measures" to
ensure the removal of foreign forces from the country, and on Monday, PM
Abdul-Mahdi met with US Ambassador Matthew H. Tueller and stressed the need
for the two countries "to work together to execute the withdrawal of foreign
troops from Iraq," and added the situation in Iraq was "critical." American
troops in Iraq are in the country based on a request by the then prime
minister, Nouri al-Maliki, in 2014. That request can be revoked by
parliament, and indeed, a recent parliamentary resolution to that effect
passed 173 to 0, although 156 MPs boycotted it, but clearly, it passed by a
majority and united some factions previously at odds. Sajad Jiyad, managing
director of Bayan Center, an Iraqi think tank said, "Even people nominally
pro-U.S., anti-Iran or neutral are not happy with what the US has done, and
believe it's a dangerous escalation," and added, "The common denominator is
this was an infringement on sovereignty."
On Monday, PM Abdul-Mahdi received a letter from Marine Brig. Gen. William
Seely III, commander of 'Task Force Iraq', declaring the US intention to
withdraw, and with specific details about the exit. The letter was sent
twice, and the copy that Abdul-Mahdi has in his possession is signed, and he
added, "It's not like a draft, or a paper that fell out of the photocopier
and coincidentally came to us." Strangely, Trump said he thought the letter
was a 'hoax', and his officials Esper and Pompeo denied any letter of the
kind was signed, or official. Abdul-Mahdi took to the Iraqi TV to broadcast
his exasperation with conflicting U.S. signals, and said: "We have no exit
but this, otherwise we are speeding toward confrontation."
The stated long-term goal of Iran's reprisals is to remove US troops from
the region. Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said "This
region won't accept the US presence. Governments elected by nations won't
accept the presence of the US." Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, early
Wednesday warned that the US forces would be removed from the Middle East,
saying: "You cut off Soleimani's hand from his body, your feet will be cut
off from the region."
Poland evacuated its ambassador in Iraq, and the Philippine government has
ordered the mandatory evacuation of Filipino workers from Iraq. Germany has
announced they will withdraw troops from Iraq, as well as Spain, Croatia,
and Romania. France says they are staying. There are about 2,900 European
troops in Iraq. Trump has asked NATO to send more troops to Iraq; however,
NATO troops are leaving Iraq.
Trump's 2016 campaign promise was an "America First" policy, and he promised
to reduce US involvement in foreign wars. However, his decision to bomb
Iraqi militias and assassinate Iran's commander Soleimani in a drone strike
caught Middle Eastern and European allies unaware and confused. Since then,
the US has given off conflicting signals on its intentions to exit Iraq even
while it deploys more troops immediately for protection.
The US media uses the phrase 'Shia militias backed by Iran' to identify the
PMF; however, this is misleading and verges on propaganda. The PMF is an
Iraqi militia and part of the Iraqi armed forces. The fact they are mainly
comprised of Shias should not be a surprise, given the fact that Iraq is
overwhelmingly populated by Shias. Iran is a neighboring country and is also
mainly Shia. Iran supports Iraq, their armed forces, and their militias.
Iran supports a 'resistance' philosophy: that is resistance to the
occupation of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. Iran is inside Iraq at
the official request of the Iraqi government. The fundamental division
between the US and Iran is this 'resistance' philosophy, which has become
ingrained in the mentality of the majority of residents in the Levant, but
which the US fails to recognize or understand. Iraq also has Sunni
militias, and they are Al Qaeda and ISIS, while Iran, Iraq, and Syria are
all fighting those terrorists.
Feature photo | Mourners step on US flags with pictures of President Trump
while waiting for the funeral of Iran's top general Qassem Soleimani and Abu
Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization
Forces, in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 4, 2020. Nasser Nasser | AP
Steven Sahouni is an independent Syrian political analyst and writer based
in Lebanon; he has been covering the Syrian crisis since it's onset in 2011
and has published several articles in numerous media outlets - He is
regularly interviewed by US, Canadian and German media.
