Members of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units take part in a military parade in the town of Taza, south of the northern oil city of Kirkuk, Iraq, June 28, 2019. Photo by REUTERS/Ako Rasheed.
Katie Bo williams, Defense One: Militias in Iraq Provide Security, Wield Political Power, and May Be Tearing the Country Apart
The top U.S. commander there said Iraq may be headed for another civil war if the government can’t firm up control.
BAGHDAD, IRAQ — Rogue militia groups threaten to thrust Iraq into civil war, senior U.S. military officials are warning in increasingly stark language.
“I think there's two major threats to the country of Iraq right now: One is the PMF” — the military abbreviation for the militia groups — “and two is the economy,” said Lt. Gen. Paul Calvert, the commander of the U.S.-led mission in Iraq and Syria.
“Both left unattended is going to erode all the gains that have been made, in my mind.”
Iraq’s constantly-shifting militia networks have frustrated American and Iraqi policymakers across multiple administrations. In Washington, the problem is often boiled down to a simple case of Iranian aggression because some of the militia groups take support and occasional direction from Tehran.
But the reality is far more complex, senior military officials and analysts in the region say.
Read more ....
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- March 2, 2021
U.S. Strikes Against Iran Sent the Right Message -- James Stavridis, Bloomberg
Four Flashpoints in the U.S.-China Cold War -- Hal Brands, Bloomberg
Last Exit From Afghanistan -- Dexter Filkins, New Yorker
How 'sticky bombs' could impact Kashmir insurgency -- Samaan Lateef, DW
'If the others go I'll go': Inside China's scheme to transfer Uighurs into work -- John Sudworth, BBC News
Boom in Somaliland: A Miracle on the Horn of Africa -- Benjamin Moscovici, Spiegel Online
Children seized. Towns attacked. Can Nigeria fix security crises? -- Fidelis Mbah, Al Jazeera
Behind Moroccan-German diplomatic crisis, a list of grudges -- Cathrin Schaer, DW
OPEC+’s balancing act between crude optimism and pandemic risk -- Radmilla Suleymanova, Al Jazeera
How to hold an extremism stand-down -- Meghann Myers, Military Times
Covax: Vaccine-sharing scheme begins, but will it be enough? -- Sam Ball, France 24
EU vaccine passport: An ethical and legal minefield? -- Rob Mudge, DW
Chinese vaccines sweep much of the world, despite concerns -- Huizhong Wu and Kristen Gelineau, AP
