Iraqi Muslims Rally Against Global Arrogance & its Agents

By: Kayhan Int’l 

 Similar to the news blackout by the Western and Arab media of the 20-million Arba’een gathering in Holy Karbala a couple of months ago, when millions of Iraqi Muslims while paying tribute to Imam Husain (AS), heartily welcomed millions of pilgrims from all over the world, especially their brethren-in-faith from neighbouring Iran, the massive rallies in Baghdad in support of the religious and political authorities on Thursday and Friday at Tahrir Square which became emptied of the hundreds of sedition-mongering hoodlums that had been occupying it with the backing of the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, have been ignored by the so-called international media.
     The vociferous chants of God’s Majesty (Allah-o Akbar) by the gathering composed of Iraqis of all walks of life, including ulema, tribesmen, students, employees and businessmen, carrying portraits of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani, and placards reading "Death to the US”, Death to Israel”, and Death to the Saudis” was a firm slap on the faces of the meddlers who over the past weeks had tried in vain to create anarchy and give an-anti Islamic and anti-Iranian colour to the rioting by a few hundred agents of Global Arrogance indulging in vandalism, including attacks on government buildings, tearing of the portraits of religious authorities, and torching of the Iranian consulate in holy Najaf.
    From the outset it was clear that the seditious riots which claimed the lives of scores of people were not the work of the Iraqi people loyal to the legitimate authorities, and appreciative of fraternal ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran – always the friend in need of the Iraqi people.
    Moreover, the conspicuous absence of banners inscribed with the words "Ya Ali”, Ya Zahra, "Ya Hussain”, "Ya Abbas”, and "Ya Mahdi”, in honour of the Immaculate Household of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), for which every true blue Iraqi aspires, whether Shi’a or Sunni, whether Arab or Kurd, during the riots of the seditionists who had draped themselves in the Iraqi flag to deceive onlookers, were clear indications that these remnants of the despicable Ba’thists and the Takfiri terrorists, were anti-nationalists trying to create anarchy on the orders of their masters abroad by attempting to bring down the national government.
    Thanks to the foresight of Grand Ayatollah Sistani the efforts of the enemies of Iraq have failed, and hopefully in the next few days consensus will be reached on naming a new prime minister, following the resignation of the incumbent Adel-Abdul Mahdi – in obedience to the advice of the religious authorities in Najaf, and definitely not to the demands of the rioters, after only a year in office.
     The Islamic Republic of Iran, as the fraternal and friendly neighbour of Iraq, will continue to support the aspirations of the Iraqi people who from now onwards will be firmly present on the scene, and help them strengthen their independence by never allowing any of their avowed enemies (Americans, Israelis, Saudis, etc.) to put up a puppet of Global Arrogance in Baghdad.
     The Iraqi Muslim people are not the inheritors of any ancient Mesopotamian tyrant like Nebuchadnezzar, neither of the medieval usurpers the Abbasids, and not of a modern day megalomaniac like Saddam – let alone simpletons to be deceived by the Wahhabi clique of a spurious and soon-to-be-vanished fiefdom called Saudi Arabia, which used to back the Ba’thists in their genocide of the Shi’as and Kurds, and recently failed in their bid to turn Iraq into a Takfiristan.
    They have a date with destiny and as followers of the Prophets of God and the Infallible Imams, whose shrines serve as beacons of guidance for them, they anxiously await the day of the reappearance of Prophet Muhammad’s (SAWA) 12th and Last Heir, Imam Mahdi (AS) and his global government of peace, prosperity and justice.
    In the meantime, Iran and the Iranian Muslim people, which are also the targets of Global Arrogance and have soundly defeated their devilish designs at every turn – as borne out by the recent massive million-strong rallies in support of the Islamic Republic system – will spare no efforts to coordinate with their Iraqi brethren.

Abdul-Mahdi Resignation; Iraq on an unclear Path!

       

Abdul-Mahdi ‘s unstable cabinet ended, let’s remember how he was assigned. Abdul-Mahdi, unlike previous PMs, did not candidate himself for the position but others asked him. He was mainly decided by Muqtada Sadr and Muhammad Reza Sistani (son of Ayatullah Sistani).

On 29 November an hour after the speech of Friday Prayers by Ayatullah Sistani’s representative, Abdul-Mahdi announced he will submit his resignation to the Parliament. In this speech, Ayatullah Sistani was addressing the Parliament mainly and “searching for new candidates in Parliament” was an expression to hint for new government in Iraq.
Therefore, after two months, the protests in Iraq result in fall of the government. The protests that became bloody in the last two nights and tens of people died and thousand injured in Najaf and Dhi Qar provinces. This was unprecedented at least in Najaf.

It is important to analyze different movements in Iraq, specially inside the house of Shia. From behind the scene but active Ammar Hakim, Sadr’s surfing on the protests and passivity of Fath movement under leadership of Hadi al-Amiri, they all need to be studied to find the challenges and capacities.

But Abdul-Mahdi, who barely reached one year of his Prime Ministry, faced serious challenges from the beginning to complete the cabinet and it actually never was complete! Some Ministers never got approval of Parliament.

Abdul-Mahdi ‘s unstable cabinet ended, let’s remember how he was assigned. Abdul-Mahdi, unlike previous PMs, did not candidate himself for the position but others asked him. He was mainly decided by Muqtada Sadr and Muhammad Reza Sistani (son of Ayatullah Sistani).

Muhammad Reza Sistani was looking for a moderate person in a sense that he does not follow Iran nor US. But Muqtada Sadr knew better what he was looking for. He was looking for a PM out of Islamic Dawa Party. It was the beginning of the successful way he imagined.

Fath movement considered Abdul-Mahdi a suitable candidate but not perfect and better than Haider al-Abadi. They preferred to agree with the selection and get some privileges from Sadr when choosing the cabinet, that they couldn’t actually.

Today we should ask those who chose Abdul-Mahdi that why became the main opposition to him? Are economic, infrastructural and corruption issues result of his performance? Or they expected Abdul-Mahdi miraculously solve everything in less than a year? Or the main question can be that if for any chaos and blood shedding in the streets government should go, when will this cycle stop? And even this ill political system might fall.

Muqtada Sadr welcomed Adil Abdul-Mahdi’s resignation and asked for referendum for new PM by putting voting boxes in the squares where there were protests! Showing a nonsense level of populism.
According to Iraq’s constitution, Prime Minister is proposed by the President and approved by Parliament’s vote of confidence. Sadr also invited to continue the protests and that the next government be a worthy government without partisan or religious considerations. A slogan which is said easier than done in Iraq. Sadr will be the first opposition of such a government!

What is important after the resignation is the process of selecting the new Prime Minister, which is not that easy at all. Muqtada Sadr still continues his dual controversial stances by wanting his share in power and showing his opposition face. Seemingly it still works in Iraq!

Fath movement close to Iran which achieved the highest number of seats after Saerun movement (Sadr) in the Parliament election, should be more active and know that being silent and away from battle is not useful and it might even result in losing their supporters. On the other hand by actively following their goals give other groups the lesson to be responsible for their actions.

But also the main chaos and protests in Iraq, which had deviations from Sadr movement, does it continue as harsh and vast as now? It is important to know that the current protest was manipulated by foreign powers to fall Adil Abdul-Mahdi’s government only or it was a people movement which does not go back until reaches its goals including political structure and economic reforms or even a mixture of both.

Everybody knows that Abdul-Mahdi was not famous for corruption nor the current situation is result of his one year being in the office.
We believe future days will shed more light on the political scene of Iraq and the role of political groups in the incidents of these two Shia provinces will be more clear.

Futile Bid by the US to Disrupt Iran-Iraq Time-Tested Ties

The US, defeated and disgraced throughout our region, if not the whole world, is trying to make a stealth comeback through the postern, and this time in Iraq.

The American hand is barely concealed in the recent incidents of violence wracking Iraq, whether in the kidnapping and killing of people by remnants of the macabre head-chopping and raw human liver-chewing Takfiri terrorists, or the blasphemous acts and anti-Islamic slogans of miscreants that have infiltrated the protest rallies in some southern towns and cities because of economic problems.

Washington is mad with rage at the patriotic people of Iraq, including the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) that were formed on the instructions of Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Sistani to defend the country against the sudden surge in 2014 of the Takfiri terrorists which armed by Israel, funded by Saudi Arabia, and directed by the US, seized Mosul and were rapidly advancing toward the capital Baghdad until stopped, rolled back and decisively defeated, thanks to the timely training and supply of weapons by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

This made the US to hastily change its tactics and by pressuring certain sections of the Iraqi government it staged an ‘official’ military comeback in order to airdrop crates of arms to the terrorists and to target Iraqi troops and PMU positions on the pretext of ‘mistaken identity’.

When this plan also failed, thanks to the steadfastness of the PMU, the US realized that the Takfiri takeover of Iraq was a lost cause, and in a bid to retain its foothold it made a token contribution to the liberation of Mosul, but made sure that the terrorist ringleaders, such as the Zionist agent Abu Bakr Baghdadi, will not fall into the hands of the Iraqis or their Iranian advisors, by stealthily evacuating them to safe sites across the border in Syria.

Then, with last May’s general elections further foiling its bid through the polls to install a client regime in Baghdad, the US has tried every trick up its sleeve to prevent the hung parliament from forming a broad-based national government, but so far all its efforts have been in vain since the parties representing Iraq’s majority community have together emerged as the winners.
The soon to be formed national government is not only expected to be a firm link in the chain of the Resistant Front stretching from Iran to Lebanon through Syria, but also officially terminate the mandate of American military presence on Iraqi soil.

A truly independent Iraq does not need any US or European troops, and has to knit ranks with its friendly neighbours, especially the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has always championed the cause of the oppressed Iraqi people, whether the Arab Shi’a Muslim majority or the ethnic Kurds, right from the days of repression of the Ba’th minority regime of Saddam and throughout the 8-year war the US had imposed on Iran in a vain attempt to create bad blood between the two fraternal Muslim peoples.

It was Iran which hosted millions of Iraqis during their persecution at the hands of the American-assisted and Saudi-supported Saddam. In view of this fact, it is but natural for Iraq and its patriotic people to acknowledge "the friend in need is a friend indeed”.

Moreover, right since the Islamization of Mesopotamia and the Iranian Plateau the Iraqis and Iranians have been beside each other, sharing a common religion centred on devotion for the Prophet’s Blessed Household (Ahl al-Bayt) and an urbanized culture that saw the building of the city of Baghdad over a millennium ago by the Abbasids on the advice of their Iranian viziers and in accordance with the plans drawn by Iranian architects. 

So, how could the upstart Americans break such a firm bond that is steeped in history, spanning more than a millennium of Islamic brotherhood – and much more in view of the fact that for 8 centuries before the advent of Islam Ctesiphon near Baghdad was the capital of Iran’s Parthian and Sassanid Empires, which assisted by the Babylonians and migrant Arab tribes like the Lakhmids (Banu Lakhm, originally from Yemen), thwarted the repeated bids of the Roman Empire to expand eastward into Syria and Mesopotamia?

Now, in another self-defeatist move that will eventually see the final exit of the US from the whole region, the harebrained Donald Trump and his team of stupid thugs who resort to preposterous lies and have no information whatsoever about the nations of Iran and Iraq, think that the sloganeering of some paid miscreants against Iran and the patriotic popular forces of Iraq in the protest rallies, will turn Mesopotamia into a pro-American land for infiltrating Iran and disrupting the link of the Resistant Front that travels all the way towards the Mediterranean Sea and Occupied Palestine that is awaiting liberation.

As we have been saying for the past few decades, right through the years of the 8-year imposed war, Iran and Iraq share a common destiny, which means it is the practical vision of the God-oriented system of the Islamic Republic which has been the winner in the face of the most severe US sanctions that will again decisively defeat any American plot, irrespective of its political or military magnitude.  

- Kayhan Int’l