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Source: https://www.arabnews.com/node/1607071
Iraq Is a Key Battleground for Tehran
(Arab News-Saudi Arabia) Dr. Azeem Ibrahim - The U.S. war in Iraq achieved exactly the opposite of what it was meant to: Instead of creating a staunch and reliable partner to help encircle Iran, it has created an ally of Tehran. Iran was much more helpful to Baghdad in its fight against ISIS than was the U.S., and so the Iraqi government owes a debt of gratitude to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and their Shiite militia proxies. Yet the Iranians seem to be repeating the mistakes of the U.S. in Iraq, overplaying their hand regarding how much leverage they have in the country, and how much they should try to exert. It turns out that the people of Iraq are in no mood to be pawns of Iran either. The writer is a research professor at the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College.