Protestors call for end to corruption and new government
Islamic State fighters killed an American soldier serving in northern Iraq when they pushed through a line of Iraqi Kurdish forces. He is the third American killed in direct combat since the US-led coalition launched a campaign against Islamic State in 2014.
“It is a combat death, of course, and a very sad loss. I don’t know all the circumstances of it,” US Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters during a trip to Germany.
The soldier’s death comes as Iraqi forces have made significant gains against Islamic State, having retaken control of Ramadi, the largest city in Anbar province earlier this year, and just this week regained control of Haditha, also in Anbar.
At the same time, there has been growing turmoil in Baghdad, where hundreds of followers belonging to Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, burst into parliament last weekend, demanding an end to corruption and a new technocratic government. The protests took place in the Green Zone, the heavily fortified center of Baghdad, also known as the International Zone.
“This is unprecedented in Iraq’s political history,” Ahmed Ali, an Iraqi-based researcher told The Media Line. “The Green Zone has always been a well-protected area for doing politics through talking and negotiation. Now it became an area for politics through arm twisting. The protestors have legitimate demands but the fact that it happened violently and unexpectedly has made matters worse for Iraq.”
Renad Mansour, the El Erian fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said that the protests came after the Iraqi parliament failed to approve Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi’s third attempt to form a government of technocrats, and that Al-Sadr decided it was time for a show of force.
“His message is for immediate change to the structure that has been governing Iraq since 2003 (the fall of long-time dictator Saddam Hussein),” Mansour told The Media Line. “Al-Sadr is one of the champions of technocracy, and of Iraqi nationalism. He condemns all outside influences – be it the US or Iran or anyone else.”
Mansour said that Al-Sadr is using non-violence to achieve his goals. In the West, Al-Sadr is remembered as the fiery cleric who tried to impose an Islamic theocracy in Iraq following the US invasion in 2003.
The demonstration in the parliament are likely to increase al-Sadr’s popularity, said researcher Ahmed Ali, as many Iraqis are frustrated with the current political system.
“At the same time, the other political groups are not going to sit back and allow Al-Sadr to achieve more popularity,” he said. “The stage is set for long term political conflict and possibly military conflict. The bottom line is that this is not going to unify the Iraqi street and it is likely to lead to more conflict.”
The casualty counts in Iraq continue to grow. On May 2 alone, 62 Iraqis, most of them civilians were killed according to Iraq Body Count, an anti-war organization. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq this week announced that a total of 741 Iraqis were killed (including 410 civilians) in Iraq last month alone.
Mansour says that Prime Minister Al-Abadi must try to find a compromise on a new cabinet that can satisfy everyone, including the Kurds and the various Sunni blocs. Until that happens, he says, it is unlikely that that situation will stabilize.
Researcher Ahmed Ali says that the current political turmoil has distracted Iraqis from what should be their primary focus — defeating Islamic State, also known as ISIS. Most estimates say that Islamic State continues to control 20 – 25 percent of Iraq, including Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city.
“The best thing the US can do is play a mediating role among the different factions and encourage all Iraqis to focus on the fight against ISIS,” Ali said. “The US should continue to target ISIS with airstrikes and weaken their control around Mosul.”