Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi may have looked to back away from a parliamentary vote to expel US troops, saying he’s leaving it up to the next government. He’s not the end of the matter though. With tensions still high, Iraq’s Shi’ite militias met on January 13 to discuss recent US aggression, and a strategy on coordinated efforts to expel the US.
The meeting was reportedly called by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the leader of Iraq’s largest parliamentary bloc. Mohammed Mohie, a spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah, said that the groups are preparing a strategy because “the Americans may stay in Iraq and challenge us.”
That seems virtually certain. Despite Iraq’s parliament voting 170-0 to expel the US, US officials have said they have no intention of leaving, and have threatened to punish Iraq for even asking.
Earlier in the month, the US attacked and assassinated a top Iranian general at the Baghdad International Airport. They also killed some members of the Shi’ite militia leadership connected to the Iraqi government.
Whether the US intention is to keep threatening Iraq and keep not leaving, or to continue to escalate the fight against the militias remains to be seen. Either way, the militias are clearly talking about coordinating their plans if it comes to a fight.
Here is what I understand that the legal aspect of this issue is. According to our current agreement our armed forces can be in Iraq for very limited purposes and actions which must be per-approved by the sovereign government of Iraq. That government can ask us in writing to take all US armed forces out of Iraq for which our government has one year to accomplish. If our government refuses to accept that withdrawal letter we are, I believe, legally at war with Iraq because we have declared an occupation of unspecified duration not covered by any treaty with Iraq. In other words back to the situation before President Bush signed SOFA-Iraq in late 2008 when we were an occupying force in Iraq.
The Soleimani assassination has set in motion an across-the-board resistance to US occupation of Iraq and Syria. These militias will soon engage in hybrid asymmetric warfare against US troops and oil interests all over the region. They’re well-positioned to cut supply lines, blow up refineries, and threaten oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. The US has no effective defense against this and will eventually have to withdraw, or go nuclear with a Sampson-type option that will lead to WWIII, which is probably what Likudniks in Israel and Trump’s crazy Christian-Zionist base have wanted all along.
It surely has, Thomas .. These militias will soon engage in hybrid asymmetric warfare against US troops and oil interests all over the region, Yes, they’re well positioned to cut supply lines, blow up refineries, and threaten oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. I agree .. the US has no effective defense against this type of warfare and will eventually have to either withdraw, or go nuclear with a Samson-type option that’ll lead to WW3, which is probably what Likudniks in Israel and DJT’s crazy Zionist base have wanted all along.
However, I don’t believe DJT wants the latter. He’s been negotiating behind the scenes with his Iranian counterpart – Hassan Rouhani – for some time now .. Therefore, there won’t be a Samson option. The Likudniks will be on their own, if they go ahead. We all have to remember, Iran has 2 powerful allies in China and Russia, and DJT doesn’t want to get on those 2 powerful countries’ wrong side. In fact, he’s just signed a trade deal with China and is on good terms with Russia’s current president, Vladimir Putin.
As for DJT’s base, only a small faction are crazy enough to want the destruction of the whole world, and they aren’t really Christians .. They’re just Zionists. Real Christians – such as I – follow the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ the best we can (Yes, we’re sinners and we ask His forgiveness).
Everyone has at some point or other a death wish. Action that is exciting, appealing to the primeval instincts. A victory guaranteed, Glory.
This cannot be stopped. They are egging each other on. Financial system is like a tightly wound coil that needs unwinding, and war is a perfect time for hardship.
Objectively , there is very little chance for success they are hoping for. The world is not just sitting idle.
The good thing — mainland is far from harm, unless things get out of hand. The bad thing is — all of our military assets designed for offense, are forward positioned. They are primary targets, well identified targets, double and triple covered targets. The decision makers — those that got away in making mess in Iraq, then continuing to make mess to prove they were right — may finally lose.
Regardless of military outcome, economy would suffer in a way American people have not felt in a long, long time. Decision making process will likely break down, as it would be hard to shift the blame. Military losses would be shocking, as unaccustomed as we are to horrors of wars affecting our lives.
The Americans are alone in Iraq, alone with their paid collaborators. They hide in their bunkers and armored transport…the true definition of “isolationism”. Attacking at random targets they know nothing about, they are suffering the worst indignity, being ignored.