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Iran-Backed Militias Are in Iraq to Stay

(Foreign Policy) John Hannah - On July 1, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi issued a decree directing that the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) militias subjugate themselves to the Iraqi state. Don't hold your breath. The odds are high that there will be no meaningful curtailment in the power of those Shiite elements of the PMF allied with Iran. The order is more likely to further entrench Iran's chokehold on the Iraqi state. I know Mahdi well. I consider him to be a friend and a strong proponent of the U.S.-Iraqi relationship. But the bottom line is that Mahdi is too weak and Iran's proxies are too strong. The PMF numbers about 130,000 to 150,000 fighters. Groups directly answerable to the IRGC make up a significant portion of that force and are its most powerful element. In the wake of the 2003 Iraq War, several of these groups worked hand in glove with the IRGC to kill over 600 U.S. troops. Iraq now forks over more than $2 billion annually to the PMF for salaries and expenses. The writer, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, was national security advisor to former Vice President Dick Cheney.
2019-08-06 00:00:00
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