American Institute: A map of 6 duties and prohibitions that Washington conducts for its success in I

POSTED ON [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] BY [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[size=52]American Institute: A map of 6 duties and prohibitions that Washington conducts for its success in Iraq[/size]

[size=45]The American researcher, Mike Knights, presented a road map that he said that the US administration should behave if it wants to succeed in Iraq under the current circumstances.
[size=45]In his research published by the Washington Institute for Studies, and seen by People today (January 25, 2020), Knights identified duties that Washington should do towards Iraq, and prohibitions that it should keep away from to avoid undermining the current developments that he described as "astounding."[/size]
[size=45]The following is the text of the American research:[/size]
[size=45]In the coming weeks, the Iraqi parliament may appoint an alternative to Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. This is a very positive development, as the Iranian-backed multiple militias in the country prefer above all to keep this leader who lost his credibility at his disposal as caretaker for an indefinite period after his resignation in November. On the other hand, the new prime minister who is granted a new mandate can push the government to move again, pass the budget, bring the criminals responsible for killing the protesters to justice, and calm the angry protesters by making clear preparations for early elections, free and fair - and thus the voting results are compensated Which was widely underestimated in 2018.[/size]
[size=45]This is the political field that has been opened up since the killing of the Iranian “Quds Force” commander, Qassem Soleimani, and the leader of an Iraqi militia, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, earlier this month. For the United States, the challenge is how to support these changes without disrupting the positive local dynamics.[/size]
[size=45]A good sign emerged earlier this week, when Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr and a group of other Iraqi politicians unanimously defended President Barham Salih after Iran-backed militias criticized him for his meeting with President Trump in Davos on January 22. These militias have previously warned President Saleh of this meeting with his American counterpart.[/size]
[size=45]The militias suffered another setback in a vote in the House of Representatives on January 5, when all Kurdish members, most Sunni members, and even many Shi'a members boycotted a session aimed at endorsing a proposal to expel American forces from Iraq. As a result, the session was held without a quorum being fulfilled, the validity of the supporting votes was canceled and it was shown that intimidation of the militia was not enough to force the opposition deputies to sabotage their own national interests.[/size]
[size=45]These amazing developments arise from the continued disruption of the regime governing the "Jerusalem Corps" in Iraq. Indeed, the assassination of Soleimani and the engineer on January 3 created a passing opportunity for Iraqi nationalists to regain political control of the militias and restore Iraqi sovereignty.[/size]
[size=45]How can Washington support these trends without inadvertently undermining them? Several duties and prohibitions come to mind as follows:[/size]
[size=45]The duty to defer more sanctions for a few weeks. The first priority is to avoid interrupting the story. Today’s story can be enjoyed in Iraq: From protesters to President, nationalists are trying to restore the right to live in a sovereign, stable, and democratic country. To avoid being distracted by these events, US officials should wait for the imminent issuance of "Magnetsky Global Law" sanctions groups for at least two weeks. Then they should note that Washington is closely monitoring individual politicians who are to be targeted in the new sanctions groups, and some people not far from being classified as sanctions.[/size]
[size=45]The duty to approve a new waiver document in the energy field. The US government should issue a new exemption document for sanctions on Iraqi purchases of Iranian natural gas and Iranian electricity in early February, when the current 120-day exemption period expires. Tehran has indicated that it will reduce this gas supply from more than 800 million cubic feet per day to only 200 million, noting the unusually cold supply and winter in Iran. Washington will not lose much in renewing the concession document - the Iranian regime does not benefit much from these transfers due to the American restrictions on dollar payments, especially with the decline in its size now. The release of the exemption document will also prevent Tehran from blaming the United States for Iraq's suffering any shortage of electricity.[/size]
[size=45]Duty to warn against additional crackdowns. On January 24 [major new protests] spread in the country, and as of this writing, it is not known whether the militia has perpetrated more violence against peaceful protesters. [The United States and other international partners may soon have indicated that they will closely monitor the protests and question Iraqi officials about harming or intimidating civilians.[/size]
[size=45]Not over-responding to anti-protests. Washington must bear in mind that any large militia in Iraq can take thousands of people onto the streets for a day, and many of them will likely march on their own alongside the peaceful protests [that spread] on January 24. This does not mean that they or that their usual anti-American slogan and symbols represent the majority of the 39 million Iraqi citizens, or even the majority Shiites in the country. Whatever the number of pro-Iranian militia supporters [who took] to the streets, they constitute only a small percentage of all Iraqis.[/size]
[size=45]Not to make more public threats. On the protection issues of sanctions and troop presence, it is time to put American messages behind closed doors. Washington had previously expressed its views on these two issues, so making new threats or other comments publicly would not be helpful. Meanwhile, US officials must take advantage of many of their current channels and communicate calmly with militia leaders and inform them that harm to Americans or their associates in any way will be matched with the same decisive force used against Soleimani and the engineer - with the clarification that this response will target Iranian advisers in Iraq And Iraqi militia leaders similarly.[/size]
[size=45]The duty to tell the Iraqi allies that Washington is their support. After renewing its deterrent stance, the United States should engage quickly and calmly with Iraqi nationalists in a way that makes them feel safe and supported, because they will undoubtedly continue to confront the types of threats that President Saleh has faced before meeting with President Trump. This means telling openly key officials such as House Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi that Washington is behind them, closely monitoring their efforts, and is ready to support and protect them as they try to resume the political process and save their country. Although partners such as the United Nations, the European Union and the Gulf countries can help promote these messages, there is no substitute for private messages conveyed by senior US officials such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.[/size]
[size=45]Michael Knights is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute. Since 2003 he has conducted extensive research on the ground in Iraq alongside security forces and government ministries.[/size]


[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
[/size][/size]