About that vote:
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blo...f-iraqs-vote-to-end-coalition-troop-presence/
"The vote in parliament was almost exclusively a meeting of Shia MPs and it appeared pre-planned and carefully orchestrated, with a preordained outcome. Juxtaposed against these elements, a Sunni MP from Mosul, Ahmed Al-Jarba, said that such a momentous decision should be taken by the representatives of all Iraqis, and asked the prime minister if the government could protect Iraq if international Coalition troops were withdrawn, whether Iraq will become a vassal state to its neighbor, and if the government, unaided by the Coalition, could control the resurgence of ISIS and the presence of armed groups in Sunni areas."
Is that entire Iraq? Sunni and Kurd factions including?
Americans were laughing behind-the-scenes.
And where is that Iraqi caretaker prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi now? Disgraced and forgotten.
Iran's problem is that it has a compartmentalized relationship with Iraq; Iraqi Shiite elements being the instruments of its influence inside Iraq. This is never going to work.
American dealings with Iraq are on state-to-state level. This is how things should be.
One country cannot deter another from having bilateral relations with USA or any other major power; this is impractical consideration.
Iran needs to REVIEW and REVISIT its foreign policy calculus as of late. Shiite militia politics is not going to win you guys favor across the Middle East and in other countries.
Biggest problem with such militias is that they turn criminal and tend to create a state within state in the long-term. This in turn fuel internal strife and violence. Theme of this very thread - Hisham al-Hashemi shot dead - is a reminder of this problem.
The so-called Iran-backed Zaniab brigade is deeply unpopular in Pakistan as well; it has no future here because of its history in Syria.
You guys have problem with USA and Israel? Challenge both directly and be done with it.
Dealt with.
