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Editor's note:

This piece is part of the Center for Middle East Policys Israel-Gaza interviews series, in which leading experts unpack the conflict via in-depth Q&As.

KEVIN HUGGARD: How would you characterize how Iraqis are responding to the crisis in Israel and the Gaza Strip? What role has support for the Palestinian cause traditionally held in Iraqi political life?

MARSIN ALSHAMARY: Across ethnic and religious lines, Iraqis are appalled by the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and the violence against civilians, especially children, resulting in a death toll that has rivaled some of the worst months of violence Iraqis have experienced in the last two decades. Perhaps due to this familiarity with war and occupation, Iraqis empathize with the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Speaking more broadly, Iraqi political, religious, and civil society leaders have consistently been supportive of the Palestinian cause for statehood and sovereignty, which is not the same as support for Hamas. Official statements from Iraq have neither condemned nor condoned Hamas specifically and have only mentioned the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause. Moreover, the events of October 7 have largely been forgotten in Iraq due to the events in Gaza that followed.

Despite regime change in 2003, Iraqs political stance on Israel has never changed. Iraq does not diplomatically recognize Israel and has participated in the 1948, 1967, and 1973 wars against it. In fact, Iraq is the only country that emerged from the 1948 war without having agreed to a cease-fire with Israel. Today, some mistakenly believe Iraqs posture is caused by its relationship with Iran, but this is an issue of alignment between Iraq and Iran, not of coercion. While Iran, under a different regime, had a relationship with Israel, Iraq has never had ties with it.

Although the Arab countries have been cold toward the Shia Arab ruling class in Baghdad since 2003, this has not impacted the Iraqi governments position on Palestine. In fact, this has been a remarkably cross-sectarian issue in the region, galvanizing support and sympathy from many sides.

Iraqs most senior Shia religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who guides millions of devoted followers within and outside of the country, has consistently repeated calls for justice for Palestinians. When he met with Pope Francis in March 2021, Palestine was the only international political topic he raised. He expressed his concerns about the condition of the Palestinians in previous statements prior to this meeting.

KEVIN HUGGARD: Could you describe the present landscape of Iraqi politics, and how the major political factions have responded to the war between Israel and Hamas?

MARSIN ALSHAMARY: The Iraqi government has officially stated its support for the Palestinian cause, called for the United States to do more to prevent Israeli violence, and has held many summits at various levels to address the war in Gaza. The Iraqi prime minister and president have attended regional summits in Cairo and Riyadh as well. Iraqs governments tend to be coalition governments (much like in Israel), which means that the opposition to the government usually exists outside of the halls of Parliament.

The strongest opposition and potential spoiler for the current Iraqi government is Muqtada Al-Sadr, the clerical leader of the Sadrist Movement who has vacillated between participating in the government and protesting it. Despite winning the largest number of seats in the most recent federal election, he forced his members of parliament (MPs) to resign and withdrew from politics in June 2022, after failing to form a non-coalition government. Sadr, however, is also strongly supportive of the Palestinian cause. It was his followers (among others) that protested for Palestine in late October 2023, with numbers reaching half a million protesters in central Baghdad. Previously, it was Sadrs MPs that pushed an anti-normalization law in 2022, which punished any interaction with Israel or Israeli representatives. This was in reaction to the fears of the Abraham Accords expanding in the region and builds on existing legislation. Although it was passed easily by Parliament, it was meant to cement Iraqs national position and to dismiss rumors and fears that the speaker of the parliament, Mohammed Al-Halbousi, harbored long-term visions of normalization with Israel. Halbousi has since been dismissed from his position and barred from public office, after having committed forgery.

The semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been officially silent on the matter. KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani mentioned that Iraq should be preoccupied with its own internal affairs in a discussion that took place at a conference in Duhok, Iraq. Having less freedom of speech than the rest of Iraq, it is not clear how much that sentiment holds with the Kurdish public. In addition, the KRG had sold oil to Israel in the past, though this was halted in March 2023, when an international arbitration court in Paris ruled in Baghdads favor, stating that Ankara had violated a joint agreement with Iraq by allowing the KRG to export crude oil through a pipeline to Turkeys Ceyhan port. Oil sales from Iraqs Kurdistan region remain halted to this day.

KEVIN HUGGARD: Iraq has seen fighting occur within its borders, with militia attacks against U.S. military personnel followed by U.S. airstrikes reportedly killing members of Kataeb Hezbollah in response. What dangers do you see for the further escalation of violence between the United States and Iran-backed groups in Iraq?

MARSIN ALSHAMARY: The Iraqi government has had to deal with the presence of armed groups who see themselves as part of the Axis of Resistance that spans the Middle East and is spearheaded by Iran. These factions do not only support the Palestinian cause but are actively opposed to Israel and sympathetic to Hamas. They were even praised by Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah in his speech after the events of October 7, alongside the Houthis. These factions represent an extreme and should not be synonymized with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a union of disparate paramilitaries united in 2014 to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) after Sistani issued a fatwa enjoining Iraqis to enlist with security forces and participate in the war. Some of these PMF groups were created in response to the fatwa, though many powerful ones including those associated with the Sadrists and with the Badr Organization had already been operative. Some groups were better able to integrate into the Iraqi Security Forces over time, whereas others notably the resistance factions have been unpredictable and difficult to control.

These resistance factions have launched rocket and drone attacks on the U.S. military presence in Iraq years before the events in Gaza, even though the United States has been in Iraq at the Iraqi governments invitation since 2014. There was a pause in attacks on the U.S. and coalition presence with the formation of the Mohammed Shia al-Sudani government in October 2022, but that has been undone with the conflict in Gaza. Since then, they have launched attacks against the Ain al-Asad base in Anbar, the coalition base near Erbil International Airport, and more recently they targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, though it had largely been evacuated by then. Despite the condemnation of the prime ministers office and the Foreign Ministry, the Iraqi government has been unable to rein in these actors.

The United States has responded to these attacks, with a number of Iraqi militiamen killed in the process. If this tit-for-tat escalation continues, it could jeopardize the international coalitions mission of countering ISIS in Iraq going forward. ISIS is territorially defeated but it is unclear what could develop if the United States, who leads the coalition, leaves Iraq. Although Washington has tried to delegate more responsibility to its partners, the coalition is heavily dependent on the United States.

The only side that has suffered casualties from this back-and-forth has been Iraqis, which makes one question the motivations of these paramilitaries. Moreover, if the Iraqi government is incapable of preventing them from attacking the U.S. military presence and incapable of persuading the United States to not respond, then is the current security arrangement with the United States more harmful than it is helpful? Regardless of how the Iraqi and U.S. governments decide to proceed, this recent crisis has revealed the interconnectedness of Middle Eastern security.

Public opinion, however, does play a role in shaping behavior in the Middle East, particularly in more democratic states like Iraq and Lebanon. Iraqis value their sovereignty and have little patience for foreign intervention whether from Iran or the United States. They also have no interest in being relegated back to a pariah state and will consistently protest and attempt to vote out any politicians that risk the countrys stability and position in the international community.

KEVIN HUGGARD: Since entering office in October 2022, al-Sudani has managed a fragile stability by balancing the Iraqi-U.S. relationship with the demands of Iranian-backed parties in his coalition. What pressures is his government now feeling from the United States and Iran, given their support for opposing sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict, and how has it dealt with these pressures?

MARSIN ALSHAMARY: Iraq has always had to balance its relationship between the United States and Iran; this is not new for Iraqi leaders. Baghdads relationship with Washington has clear contours, particularly concerning Iraqs position on Israel, which has been clear from the beginning. Iraq has consistently supported the Palestinian cause and its position on this current conflict is not shaped by Irans support for Hamas, which is separate from support for Palestine. Therefore, Iraq will not be pushed toward Iran because of this conflict, but it may still be pushed away from the United States as the Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues with unequivocal U.S. support.

Another alarming trend, from the U.S. perspective, is that the once pro-American and pro-democracy civil society forces in Iraq have grown disenchanted with the United States and its purported ideals. These activists have stood at the frontlines and protected Iraqs democratic institutions from erosion and attack at significant personal risk. Today, many of these activists are questioning the sincerity of the U.S. and the Western commitment to democracy and human rights, given the blatant disregard for civilian lives in Gaza. This will have consequences for decades to come as it is these civil society elites that shape Iraqs public political discourse. This has taken place in other Middle Eastern states as well, though the stakes are highest in Iraq and Lebanon, which are the only states that have democratic institutions, flawed though they may be.

KEVIN HUGGARD: In Iraqi foreign policy more broadly, al-Sudanis government has navigated a relatively neutral path between its regional neighbors and major global powers over the last year and has continued to build ties with Arab countries in the region. Do you see this approach as likely to continue, and has the current conflict introduced any complications to it?

MARSIN ALSHAMARY: This approach to a balanced foreign policy and an outreach to Arab states is not a new one in Iraq, and it builds on the work of previous prime ministers (both those with close ties to the United States and those who were closer to Iran). This is a sign that Iraqs institutions are maturing and that it has a foreign policy mission that transcends partisan lines. This should continue after the tenure of al-Sudanis premiership.

Read the original post:
How Iraq is managing the Israel-Gaza crisis | Brookings - Brookings Institution

122 killed by a fire in a wedding hall. 82 killed by a fire in a Covid-19 hospital. Three months later, another hospital fire claimed the lives of 92 more.

Though they may seem to be freak accidents, these fires were preventable tragedies sharing one common theme: gross negligence.

Government investigations into these fires found that local authorities were negligent in their failure to enforce safety regulations and conduct inspections. Contractors used cheap, highly flammable construction materials to cut costs. Corruption allowed violators to act with impunity. Death tolls were exacerbated by absent or insufficient fire escapes, sprinkler systems, and evacuation plans.

Authorities recorded 32,400 fires in federal Iraq and 7,546 in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in 2022. The two leading causes were voltage fluctuations and defective wires in commercial and residential areas, often because contractors cut corners in violation of building codes.

Its not just fires, either.

In 2019, an overcrowded ferry sunk near Mosul, killing 128 people and leading to the sacking of then-governor Nawfal Hammadi. Investigations suggested that orders from the river police stating conditions were unsafe for operation were ignored, with river speeds more than double the safely operable limit. The ferry was carrying 287 people when it sank; maximum capacity was 80.

In January, a building under construction collapsed, killing three and injuring nine. Two months later, the Iraqi Civil Defense Directorate warned that more than 2,500 buildings across Iraq are on the verge of collapse, blaming authorities greenlighting sub-standard buildings and leading to the evacuation of residents from homes at risk.

The Iraqi government imprisoned, fired, or fined those whose negligence was found to be responsible for these tragedies, as it should. But, just as importantly, authorities must take steps to prevent these tragedies in the first place by enforcing rules on fire safety, construction standards, and reliable transport.

More here:
Tragedies Born of Negligence in Iraq - Human Rights Watch

U.S. soldiers conduct an artillery exercise at al Asad Air Base in Iraq on Dec. 1, 2023. The base was targeted in a rocket attack Dec. 20, but there were no injuries or damage for American personnel, a U.S. Central Command statement said. (Quince Lanford/U.S. Army)

U.S. troops at a base in western Iraq once again came under rocket fire, military officials said Thursday, adding that the attack did not cause any injuries or damage.

The Wednesday morning attack on al Asad Air Base was carried out with a 122 mm rocket, a U.S. Central Command statement said.

Although officials didnt name the suspects in the attack, Iraqi security forces seized a truck believed to have launched the rocket, the statement said.

Iranian-backed militias have launched dozens of attacks on U.S. troops at bases in Iraq and Syria since the start of a war between Israel and Hamas that American officials have worked to prevent from escalating into a regional conflict.

More than 100 attacks involving drones, rockets and mortars have targeted American troops in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 7, a U.S. defense official told Stars and Stripes on Thursday.

No U.S. forces have died, although dozens have been injured, and an American defense contractor died of a heart problem in October while scrambling for cover during an alert at al Asad.

The U.S. has announced at least six retaliatory and pre-emptive airstrikes on militants in Iraq, including one in late November after al Asad Air Base came under fire from ballistic missiles.

The Pentagon has roughly 2,400 troops deployed to Iraq, as well as 800 troops and about 130 contractors deployed to Syria, a statement from U.S. Central Command in early December said.

Militant groups in Iraq are known for using 122 mm rockets, which are most commonly based on models from the Soviet Union, a 2014 report published by Small Arms Survey said.

These rockets range from 6 to 9 feet in length, and the most common model has an explosive payload of about 41 pounds, the report said.

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No US troops injured in latest rocket strike at Iraq base - Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today introduced a resolution condemning attacks by Iranian military proxies on U.S. armed forces in Iraq and Syria and emphasizing the urgency of responding to and deterring such attacks.

American troops in the region have been targeted by Iranian proxies more than 115 times since mid-October in the wake of the terror attacks committed by Hamas against Israel. Iran provides financing, training, and other support to militia groups throughout the region, including the Houthi rebels in Yemen. In addition to targeting U.S. troops and infrastructure, attacks by Iran-backed militias have forced global shipping companies to stop using the Red Sea as a travel route, slowing down critical supply chains throughout the region.

Attacks on American troops are reprehensible, and Iranian support for these attacks has rightfully earned a swift and forceful response from the Biden administration, said Senator Coons. I join Senator Cruz in introducing this resolution to condemn these attacks, increase pressure on Iran to cease its support for violent militia groups, and support efforts to deter Iranian-backed militia attacks on U.S. troops and the international community. I also commend the resiliency and bravery of American service members across the Middle East and hope this resolution makes clear Congress support for U.S. Central Commands mission of countering terrorism and maintaining stability across the region.

The Iranian regime is attacking Americans, our allies, and our interests across the Middle East, said Senator Cruz. They are not only launching attacks and massacres against our Israeli and Arab allies, but their Houthi proxies are now trying to shut down freedom of navigation that is vital to the American and global economies. It is clear that they are not deterred, and it is long past time for the Biden administration to take all necessary steps to deter and counter these activities. Enough is enough.

In addition to Senators Coons and Cruz, the resolution is cosponsored by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska.).

The text of the full resolution is available here.

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Original post:
Senators Coons, Cruz introduce resolution to condemn attacks by Iranian military proxies on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria - Senator Chris Coons

Iraqi militias launched a drone attack on Eilat, but the drone never made it and was intercepted by Jordan in its airspace.

An X (formerly Twitter) account associated with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella term for multiple pro-iran militias, announced that they had launched a drone attack on Eilat in Israel.

The Jordanian Defence Ministry announced that it had shot down the drone after it had crossed into Jordanian airspace, according to Maariv.

The document, signed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), says that this attack is a continuation of their resistance to the occupation as well as to support the people of Gaza in response to "the massacres committed by the usurping entity against Palestinian civilians".

The IRI is not a fixed group according to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, "but rather a generic name used to denote unity among Iran-backed armed groups and deemphasize their individual identities during attacks spurred by the Gaza crisis."

The Institute recorded a series of attacks against American bases in Iraq launched by the IRI since October 17, with all of them being attributed to this "generic, no-logo brand" militia, this is part of Iran's "facade strategy" to avoid accountability for attacks on Americans.

They suggest this hints that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is likely coordinating the attacks and "corralling" Iran's proxies which would normally argue over public leadership.

The Institute highlights three main militias likely operating under the IRI umbrella, Kataib Hezbollah (who kidnapped Israeli Elizabeth Tsurkov earlier this year), Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada. Indeed the original account that tweeted about the drone attack is affiliated with Asaib Ahl al-Haq.

This escalation is likely part of Iran's attempts to use proxy groups around the Middle East to put pressure on the US and Israel, as has been the case with increased Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.

Further complicating the situation groups such as Asaib Ahl al-Haq also hold 17 seats in the Iraqi parliament as part of the Fatah Alliance (unrelated to the Palestinian party of the same name).

See the original post here:
Iraqi militia attempts Eilat drone attack, was intercepted over Jordan - The Jerusalem Post