US suspicious hostile moves against Iraqi Hashd al-Sha’abi

It seems that there is no end to US hostility in Iraq and Trump’s government is preparing itself for another aggression against the Iraqi Resistance Group Hashd al-Sha’abi.

In this regard, the New York Times report claimed that Pentagon secretly called for the destruction of one of the Iraqi Resistance Group namely Kata'ib Hezbollah last week. According to Times, this group is part of “Hashd al-Sha’abi” organization and such action can undermine the Washington-Baghdad agreement on US military activity in Iraq.

In a meeting held on March 19th at the White House, US President Donald Trump did not authorize such operation, but allowed the Pentagon to continue developing a military plan, the New York Times reported.

Times also noted a split in Trump’s administration in this regard, as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien insisted on implementing the plan, while Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and US Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley warned of the escalation of instability in the region at the same time as the US President promised to reduce troops in the Middle East.

On the other hand, a commander of the Hashd al-Sha’abi in Iraq Kamal al-Hasnawi referred to the report published by New York Times and said, “We were aware of the statements and revelations in the media, but today these have become obvious and shameless which aim at targeting not only one special group but also the entire Iraqi nation.”

He further said that such an approach adopted by the US is an explicit violation of the Iraqi sovereignty and therefore the Iraqi officials must condemn the escalation of tensions and also summon the US ambassador to clarify the issue.

However, US moves are not only confined to suspicious military actions, as they have also taken political measures which are indicative of Washington's efforts to implement some aggressive plans in Iraq. For example, the US State Department suddenly decided to reduce the number of active personnel in US embassies based in Baghdad and Erbil due to the spread of coronavirus. This has raised some concerns.

The US move regarding its diplomatic places is significant due to the fact that the administration has not adopted the same strategy for other countries such as China, Italy, and Spain which are also suffering from the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, political analysts maintain that the US recent approach mostly demonstrates political and security aspects.

Meanwhile, The US has reportedly limited its forces in Ain al-Assad and Harir bases in Kurdistan Region.

"It seems that there is no end to US hostility in Iraq and Trump’s government is preparing itself for another aggression against the Iraqi Resistance Group Hashd al-Sha’abi.In this regard, the New York Times report claimed that Pentagon secretly called for the destruction of one of the Iraqi Resistance Group namely Kata'ib Hezbollah last week"However, this does not mean that the US pulled out of military bases in other parts of Iraq including Al-Qayyarah airbase in Nineveh Governorate. Recently, Nineveh authorities strongly denied the US evacuating Al-Qayyarah airbase.

Political analysts believe that the US seeks to achieve its political and security goals by pressuring the Shiite groups to endorse Iraqi Prime Minister Adnan al-Zurufi. In fact, Washington strives to impose its will on the Shiite parties and groups which is blatant interference in Iraq’s internal affairs.

MNA/4888263