Talib Abdulwahab Al-Saedi, Secretary General of Sha’abanieh Intifada movement of Iraq and the commander of Al-Qaem brigades of popular mobilization forces said in an exclusive interview with Habilian Association: “Iraqi officials must bravely join the Iran-Russia-Hezbollah antiterrorism coalition.”
In reply to a question about his analysis of the situation on the ground in Iraq and the country’s war against terrorism, he reiterated: “There are still major parts of western and northern Iraq under the control of ISIS terrorists and the Ba’ath party members. So the war against terror would go on, certainly not for a short time.”
Regarding the slow progress of military movements and actions against terrorists in Iraq despite the availability of heavy and modern weaponries, Al-Saedi blamed some US supported political movements in Iraq and said: “After the Ba’ath regime was overthrown and the army was dismantled, it was clear that the US would use some political movements to reestablish the army, so racism and tribal relations replaced meritocracy and regulations in army. Thus the commanders relied on leaders of their political parties and the result of that was the fall of Mosul in 2014. So heavy weaponry and high numbers of military forces are of no use where there is no faith in patriotism.
He further elaborated on the role of corrupt politicians in the fight against terrorism and said: “Some high ranking Iraqi officials are connected to countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and the United States. They are being played to make the war against ISIS last longer. Unfortunately, the government is so much busy with local military actions that it has neglected political activities. A serious participation in a real counter-terrorism coalition like the one formed by Russia and Iran, could be a part of the Iraqi government’s efforts.
He then criticized the US-led coalition in the fight against ISIS and stated: “This coalition has one head and many arms. The US is the head of the coalition and other countries are its arms. The US has a plan to disintegrate Iraq. Thus the ISIS is a creation of the United States.
At the end, he urged the Iraqi officials to take the courage and join the Iran-Russia-Hezbollah coalition in the fight against terrorism.