Shiite bloc says ‘evil’ US must stop intervening in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A hard-line Shiite bloc in Iraq blamed the “evil” United States for the country’s current turmoil, rejecting any further military intervention by the Americans.

“We have said it before in public that the US is evil and the enemy of the entire world,” said Hussein al-Awadi, spokesman of the Sadrist Ahrar bloc in parliament.

“We strongly condemn and reject American intervention in Iraq,” he said in an interview with Rudaw, calling the presence of American advisors in Iraq “an indirect and veiled occupation.”

The Sadrists are inspired by the thoughts of Muqtada al-Sadr, a firebrand Shiite cleric whose Mahdi Army militarily opposed the US occupation of Iraq after the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein.

Sadr has been largely backed by Iraq’s Shiite neighbor, Iran. However, Awadi said that Iran also had no business intervening in Iraq’s current war with the Sunni Islamic State (ISIS) jihadis.

“We reject any interference that violates the sovereignty of Iraq and interferes in military affairs categorically, without distinction,” Awadi said.

He advised that Iraq must resolve its internal challenges according to the rule of law and without outside intervention.

The United States, which toppled Saddam and unleashed some of the forces now tearing the country apart, has been in the forefront of an international coalition of nations fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

US and coalition partners have largely limited their roles to  airstrikes against ISIS and supplying intelligence and weapons to Iraqi forces, including the autonomous Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga troops.

Iran also has been playing a growing role in Iraq since an ISIS advance in June that rolled over the Iraqi army and swept through a third of the country.

Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force, has been photographed several times in recent months in Iraq.

Awadi also blamed rival Shiite leader and former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki for the rise of ISIS and a deterioration of security during his tenure.

“We witnessed a clear military failure and clear deterioration in security, and on the grounds that Maliki was the prime minister and the general commander of the Iraqi armed forces, he holds part of the responsibility.”

Maliki’s successor, Haidar al-Abadi, recently replaced a number of leaders in the armed forces, with approval from Ahrar.

“Dismissal of a number of security officers, forcing their retirement and holding them accountable is a healthy condition,” Awadi said. “These changes will add new blood to the military.”

“Iraq has began advancing and liberating many areas with pure Iraqi efforts and its brave army and popular volunteers,” he said. “The Iraqi army does not need training, but weapons and equipments.”

The oil and budget disputes with the Kurdistan Region could also be resolved constitutionally, Awadi advised.

“The Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi government must unify their efforts to resolve differences for the interest of Iraq; if the two governments resort to the law, then the issue will be resolved,” he said.