Iraq is being held hostage
Once more, Baghdad is under siege. This time, rather than ISIS being at the gates, as they were in 2014, it is those who played the role of foot soldiers in the campaign to defeat the Islamic State that are threatening the very existence of the Iraqi state.
This week, less than five months before the nation is due to elect its new leaders, Shiite militias loyal to Iran besieged the Green Zone, Baghdad’s heavily fortified diplomatic quarter, demanding the federal authorities release one of their commanders who was arrested on terrorism charges. The fact that Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is under immense pressure to capitulate to these demands in the midst of a mass demonstration against militia impunity is a clear indication that Iraq is being held hostage by a transnational Shiite jihadist network commanded and controlled from Iran.… Seguir leyendo »