LOS ANGELES.–Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the U.S. retaliatory strike on Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia allowed to base itself in Iraq while waiting for orders from 83-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Avenging the attacks of U.S. forward operating base Tower 22 in Jordan Jan. 28 that killed three U.S. soldiers, injuring 40, 81-year-old President Joe Biden authorized strikes on Kataib Hezbollah targets in Iraq and Syria. Iraq’s Maj. Gen. Yahya Rasool said the U.S. attacks would only inflame the region, serving no deterrent purpose at all other that firing a shot across the bow of Iran. When former U.S. President George W. Bush launched Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, no one imagined that getting rid of Saddam Hussein would turn Iraq into a puppet regime of Iran. But without a doubt, Iraq is closely tied to the Ayatollah’s mullah regime.
When Bush and his Vice President Dick Cheney decided to topple Saddam’s regime in 2003, no one imagined the U.S. would lose 4,431 soldiers, spending $1.1 trillion to win Iraq’s freedom from Saddam’s brutal Baathist regime. Twenty-years later Iraq is free of Saddam but now closely aligned with Ayatollah’s Shiite mullah regime. Iraq’s Foreign Ministry let the U.S. know what it thought of 85 attacks on Kataib Hezbollah, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard targets. “An adventurous action and strategic mistake that will result in increased tension and instability in the region,” said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani. U.S. State Department pretends that Iraq, after all the blood-and-treasure, was an ally of the U.S. but, in reality, Iraq is closely tied to the Ayatollah’s regime. Iraq’s Foreign Ministry condemned in the strongest terms possible Biden’s strikes on Iraqi soil.
Instead of listening to fellow war hawks in Congress urging him to attack Iran directly, Biden went after Iranian-backed militia groups responsible for the deadly drone attack on Tower 22 in Jordan. “Iraq reiterates its refusal to let its lands be an arena for settling scores, and all parties must realize this. Our country’s land and sovereignty are not the appropriate place to send messages and show force between opponents,” said government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi, Biden said he didn’t want to start a war with Iran, deciding to focus on proxy groups responsible to attacking Tower 22. But Biden knows that the real culprit in killing U.S. troops was Iran for supplying cash-and-arms to militia group to attack the U.S. and its allies. Since the 2003 Iraq War, the White House has not been able to continue close diplomatic relations with Baghdad, knowing it close ties to Tehran.
Biden hasn’t figured out that after over 20 years since the Iraq War ended, Iraq has fallen into Iran’s orbit, the last thing the U.S. government wanted. So, after $1.1 trillion and 4,431 deaths fighting Iraq’s battles, the U.S. is left with nothing but resentment. President Barack Obama ordered the pull out of most U.S. forces in 2011, leaving only 2,500, a fraction of the 500,000 U.S. troops once in Iraq. “The Iraq government will make every effort required by moral, national and constitutional responsibility to protect our land, our cities, and the loves of our children in all types of armed forces,” said al-Awadi. Awadi makes no mention of the sacrifices made by America to promote Iraqi democracy, only to watch the Iraqi regime partner with Iran on a host of domestic and foreign policy projects. No matter what the sacrifices, Iraq shows no loyalty to Washington.
Biden can’t get his foreign policy straight because he tries to take shortcuts. Going after Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq and Syria makes more enemies that it helps. Iraq wants the U.S. off Iraqi sovereign territory, certainly not attacking Iranian-backed militias. “The U.S. had deliberately tried to deceive public opinion and falsified the facts by claiming there had been prior consultations with the government before the attacks were mounted,” said al-Awadi. Iraq’s calloused attitude toward Washington stems from the fact that they never wanted U.S. intervention to get rid of Saddam. Whatever Bush and Cheney decided to do, it was not with Iraqi support. Now that the U.S. goes after Iranian militia groups, it proves the U.S. and Iraq work at cross purposes. Rasool made clear that the Iraq government did not support U.S. retaliatory strikes on its territory.
Biden can run but can’t hide the inevitable confrontation with Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei. Since Iran seized the U.S. embassy taking 66 hostages in 1979, the U.S. has had no diplomatic relations with Iran, using the Swiss embassy as intermediary. When it comes to Iraq’s government today, it’s more loyal to the Ayatollah than to 81-year-old President Joe Biden. Using various proxy groups, Ayatollah continues the asymmetric war against the United States, requiring Biden to directly deal with the Ayatollah. Bombing and firing missiles at Iran-backed proxy groups does nothing to stop Ayatollah from his campaign of state-sponsored terrorism against the United States and its allies. Hitting Iran’s proxy groups does nothing to deal with Iran’s ongoing guerrilla war against the U.S. and its allies. Biden needs to go directly to the source.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
