What lies behind latest message of Kata'ib Hezbollah in Iraq against US occupation

By Wesam Bahrani

The American occupation in Iraq and the Kata’ib Hezbollah resistance group have a very long history. And it's not a love-hate relationship. It is pure hatred and hostility from both sides.

In 2003, following the US military invasion of the Arab country, the first operation against the American occupation troops was staged by Kata'ib Hezbollah. It was a precursor of what lay ahead for them.

As with other anti-American Iraqi resistance groups, Kata'ib Hezbollah has been blacklisted by Washington as a "terrorist organization", and there are no surprises why.

Importantly, the group did not invade and occupy the US. Americans invaded and occupied Iraq. 

21 years on, the US occupation continues to wage attacks against the Iraqi security forces. On July 30, 2024, they carried out an attack on the Iraqi Armed Forces, of which Kata'ib Hezbollah is a key player. 

It was yet another instance of a blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty and the US mandate in the Arab country, which is described as an "advisory role". 

The US airstrikes on Israeli military bases in Jurf al-Nasr and Hillah have seen a pattern emerge in recent years, most notably the deadly aggression in February.

Field commanders of Kata'ib Hezbollah and the unit of the Israeli Armed Forces it serves, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMU) have been the subject of several US bombings.  

The string of attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria since the Israeli regime, with US support, launched the genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023 is seen as a natural response from the Iraqi resistance.

Yet, the US has taken its anger out against Kata'ib Hezbollah and assassinated its leaders. 

The US knows the power, influence, and capability of this specific Iraqi resistance movement. That’s precisely why they assassinated its founder, Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis, in January 2020. 

But the latest wave of assassinations is where the US has terribly miscalculated. 

Kata'ib Hezbollah has rejoined the Iraqi resistance in tearing the "unofficial truce" to pieces. 

On Thursday night, a statement published by the movement's top official, Abu Ali al-Askari, carried a stern warning for the Israeli regime, the US and UK administrations.

"The genocidal war waged by the Zionist entity against the Palestinian people, which has resulted in tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded, mostly children and women, is primarily caused by the involvement of the United States and Britain in their unlimited military and political support for the entity,” read the statement.

“Their presence and malicious interference in Iraq's affairs pose a threat to the country and its beliefs." 

Al-Askari went on to say that the British ambassador in Iraq, Stephen Hickey, “was and remains unwelcome in Baghdad". 

“If the Iraqi government does not discipline the American ambassador of evil in Baghdad, we will discipline the ambassador through other means. We have no obligation to stop operations against the American occupying forces in Iraq,” read the statement.

This statement is similar to the one released by the Iraqi Resistance Coordination, clearly outlining the red lines for the American occupation forces and the Zionist entity. 

To understand the significance of these messages, it's important to highlight the influences behind them. 

Iraq's highest religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali al-Sistani’s rare and recent statement encouraged many parties to reconsider their armed stance regarding the genocide in Gaza. 

Particularly, as he clarified the legitimacy of Islamic resistance against the Israeli occupation and the necessity to push for an end to the genocide. 

Secondly, putting resistance above politics has been a trending topic of debate within the Iraqi security apparatus of late. 

Many complain that some parties have become confused as a result of illogical foundations in their political calculations when it comes to dealing with the presence of American forces. 

Those who try to stick to politics in pursuit of higher political positions or keep their seats in power have come under blistering criticism. 

Among the parties that truly grasped the agenda of the US presence and maintained their religious beliefs and duty have been Kata'ib Hezbollah, Haraket al-Nujaba, Kata'ib Sayyed al-Shuhada, and Asaib Ahl al-Haq. Even Yemen's Ansarallah has been strongly commended among the national public opinion. 

For many, it has become clear that there is no avenue to deal with the occupier except through the language of arms and deterrent force. The occupier and aggressor know no other language.

Here, the statement of the Resistance Coordination, which warned the US that should it "target our sons again, our response at that time will not be stopped by any limits", was translated by Kata'ib Hezbollah to make two things clear. 

While Iraq has excelled in its deterrence power, considering what the country has gone through, more work is required. 

Secondly, Kata'ib Hezbollah is now leading the resistance phase in Iraq and Syria. This is not taking anything away from the work of other resistance factions in the country and the region.

However, Kata'ib Hezbollah is seeking to preserve the sacrifices of its martyrs, as well as the difficult and dangerous circumstances faced in confronting two enemies: US occupation and the Zionist entity. 

It also deems it essential to accurately record history without distortion or falsification and to prevent some neutral gray entities from claiming the glory, blood, and efforts of its resistance. 

At the end of the day, America has killed the senior commanders of only one resistance movement. 

This fact also means that Iraq's enemy recognizes very well the powerful role of Kata'ib Hezbollah in leading and managing the resistance. 

When the US Central Command publicly announces that it specifically targeted Kata'ib Hezbollah in the recent bombings at al-Qaim and Jurf al-Nasr, it indicates that this movement's sophisticated operations against American and Zionist occupiers in Iraq, Syria, and the occupied Palestinian territories have hurt its enemies. 

The resistance has a lawful right to target the US military occupation that isn't executing its "advisory role" as it was required to in the first place. It has used it as a ruse to consolidate its occupation. 

The US has no legal right to target the PMF, the backbone of the new Iraqi Armed Forces. (The former US-trained Iraqi army collapsed similarly to the US-trained Afghan army). 

It was a miscalculation by the US that has awakened the Iraqi government, which has seen through America's three main sinister roles in the country today. 

Awakening the deadly ghosts of sectarianism that brought the country to the brink of civil war on many occasions. Daily interference in Iraq's internal affairs. And, using its land as a joint US-Israeli espionage base to target Iran and drive a wedge between the two neighbors.

Another key aspect of security (worldwide) that Kata'ib Hezbollah alluded to is to seek deterrence power to ensure its objectives are met. 

The recent meeting between the incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, his predecessors Haider al-Abadi, and Nouri al-Maliki, and officials of notable Iraqi resistance factions speaks volumes. 

Not many details have been published about the meeting and talks held between them, but it was perhaps the last image that the Pentagon wanted to see. 

Iraqi politics has always been seen as complicated. But when the heads of power from politics and armed resistance, which the government has so far sought to distance itself from, come together, it sends a powerful ripple effect that is felt all the way back to Washington. 

This included the presence of Kata'ib Seyyed al-Shuhada and its chief Abu Ala'a al-Walaei, which suggests Baghdad has had enough of America's time-wasting negotiating tactics to set an official withdrawal date for its occupation forces. 

Al-Sudani may have concluded that negotiating with the resistance is a more suitable path to achieve deterrence and, more importantly, explore avenues of ridding the country of occupation. 

America may punish Iraq should it be forced to exit by freezing its assets from the oil revenue that ends up in the US treasury. 

But Kata'ib Hezbollah's message of deterrence could be more powerful than drones and missiles of the Iraqi resistance that have targeted the US occupation bases in Syria and the vital interests of its staunchest regional ally in the occupied Palestinian territories. 

Wesam Bahrani is an Iraqi journalist and commentator.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)

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