No power can remove Hashd al-Shaabi from the scene in Iraq: Analyst
By Ali Ghorban Bagheri
No power can remove the Iraqi resistance movement Hashd al-Shaabi from the scene regardless of demands made by Americans from the Iraqi government, says an Iraqi analyst.
In an interview with the Press TV website, Wael Alrekabi, an expert on Iraqi political affairs, explained the dimensions of US efforts to revive the Daesh terrorist group in the region and seek dissolution of the Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
He said the calls for the dissolution of the Iraqi resistance movement that was borne out of a famous fatwa (religious edict) by top Iraqi religious authority Ayatollah Sistani in 2014 come as Iraqi authorities have called for the expulsion of foreign forces from the country.
"In Iraq, I believe that no power can remove Hashd al-Shaabi from the scene," Alrekabi asserted, adding that the group was the product of the fatwa and has been the core of the power that confronts the invaders and is currently part of the Iraqi government.
He said foreign powers cannot force the Iraqi government to marginalize Hashd al-Shaabi, insisting that no one has that authority.
Last week, Iraqi defense minister Thabet al-Abbasi visited Washington where he held talks with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during the inaugural US-Iraq Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue (JSCD) meeting.
In the wake of the visit, reports emerged that Americans have mounted pressure on the Iraqi government to disband Hashd al-Shaabi in exchange for weapons
Aaid Al-Hilali, one of the leaders of the Al-Fatah parliamentary coalition of Iraq, was quoted as saying that Washington has opposed Iraq's purchase of French Rafale fighter jets in the latest negotiations.
He stated that Americans have demanded the dissolution of Hashd al-Shaabi organization and emphasized that the US does not implement the agreement to give fighter jets to Iraq, and out of 32 jets only 16 have been delivered to Iraq so far.
Alrekabi noted that Americans signed a long-term strategic agreement with Iraq, but they have failed to adhere to it since the emergence of Daesh in Iraq and Syria.
He hastened to add that Iraq is expected to adhere to its position on terrorism and will not dissolve the Hashd al-Shaabi.
"Although US presence is in line with supporting terrorism in the region, Americans will leave the region just as they left Afghanistan," the analyst said.
Pertinently, his remarks came on the second anniversary of the expulsion of US forces from Afghanistan by the Taliban.
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