Popular Mobilization Forces

The United States can do whatever it wants.

It's gonna go and invade Iraq and occupy Iraq, but it will give rise to today another flank of the axis, the Popular Mobilization Forces.

Again, they don't just arise, and I mention this because if there is some sense that there's a directive force coming out of Tehran, no.

You have, um, regional forces, right, that are paying the cost of this end of history equation of power, right? This belief of the United States and, and the Zionists that they can enact with impunity the violence they need to be able to enact their colonial imperial projects in the region.

Um, [laughs] but my, my suspicion would be that if...

I mean, depending on how fast they wanna escalate, it would determine whether they would do anything themselves, or if they would want to have a degree of plausible deniability, and have an escalation take place, uh, in the Persian Gulf, most likely, but perhaps conducted by either Hashd or one of the other militias, or something-

The Iraqi militias

...

But I think there, there remains to be seen whether the, the Turkish military presence, the NATO presence, uh, will also become s- uh, subject of future political consideration.

So Omar, I wanna come to you because one of the visuals that has circulated, uh, I think in American social media circles, to some extent American media, have been some sort of striking images about, uh, of examples being like the, some members of the Popular Mobilization Forces driving trucks over the American flag.

Uh, statements by, uh, I think the Secretary General of Kata'ib Hezbollah saying essentially that this was, uh, uh, around the resistance has won, something to that effect.

Obviously, that is a perspective in a part among a segment of Iraqis that have long been openly hostile to the U.S. military presence.

At the end of last month, the U.S. military completed its final withdrawal from the country.

The other, the disarming of the so-called Popular Mobilization Forces militias, most of which enjoy the backing of neighboring Iran, already had to be delayed.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing Iran war, what does the U.S. withdrawal mean for the future of Washington's relationship with Baghdad, for Iraq's security, and for the Prime Minister's push to bring all arms under state control?

To discuss these issues and more, we've invited back on the program MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow Robert S. Ford.

So the Americans had to stay and they continued to fight.

And once the Islamic State was pushed out of the American, excuse me, Iraqi cities, the Americans turned their focus towards the PMFs, the Popular Mobilization Forces, the Shia militias.

And there were occasional bombings and counterattacks between these two groups.

But then what happened? Now the Now, in the midst of another American war in the region, the American troops are out of Iraq and the PMFs are staying.

So these three are the major political organizations which make up the Shia Coordination Committee and the Shia Coordination Committee is one of the major backers of the current government of Prime Minister Zaidi and all three parties are like Sadaki Network, and the State of the Law, and the Badr Organization, all three parties are closely aligned with the Iranians.

So we are talking about the parties that back the government in Iraq.

So you have the popular mobilization forces, you also have the political parties, and you also have the cultural connect, which goes back in centuries.

So you look at it from any point of view, Iran maintains you know, extreme leverage and influence inside Iraq.