Iraq is trying to play a significant regional role to try to reduce tensions. It also serves Iraq’s interests, as the Baghdad summit showed.
Diverse political groups in Iraq are increasingly demanding the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the country. Their focus is the US presence that is at the root of all of Iraq’s problems.
Iraq’s new Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi seems to be a man for all seasons. As Iraq’s former spy chief, he has cultivated close links with many unsavory characters that appear to have paid off by elevating him into the prime ministerial seat in Baghdad.
The American neo-cons have gone berserk. They have embarked on a plan to break-up Iraq following demands by the Iraqi parliament and government for US and foreign troops to get out of Iraq. The demands came in the wake of the assassination of Iran’s top general, Haj Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi comrade, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis on January 3 at Baghdad airport. The US missile strikes were described by most legal experts as war crimes.
Millions of Iraqis, setting aside political differences, joined hands in a peaceful rally in Baghdad on January 17 to demand the ouster of all US forces from the country.
Exploiting the legitimate grievances of the Iraqi people, the US has unleashed its paid agents to sow chaos in Iraq to bring down the government. The overall objective is to undermine Islamic Iran’s influence thereby weakening the resistance front.
Based on our understanding of global events and their impact on the Muslim world, we identify certain trouble spots that are likely to remain in the news. We are not making predictions, merely analyzing trends that lead us to such conclusions.
