The conflict is not far from Iraq.. Is the decision in the hands of the government or the factions?

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[size=52]The conflict is not far from Iraq.. Is the decision in the hands of the government or the factions?[/size]

[size=45]Every now and then, the government, through its officials, emphasizes keeping the country away from any war in the region and giving priority to the language of dialogue over all conflicts. However, this government decision clashes with the decision of the armed factions, which continue to declare their readiness for any regional war if Iran is bombed, which may put the country before difficult choices.
Retired Brigadier General Ayyad al-Tufan, a researcher in military affairs, says, “From a military standpoint, Iraq does not have the capabilities to respond militarily to Israel if it launches any attack on it, whether it is broad or limited, or targets the headquarters and leaders of the factions.”
Al-Tufan adds, “The decision to go to war in Iraq is in the hands of the armed factions, as they control the security, political and even governmental scene, and the factions’ statements are very clear in this regard, as they are in favor of entering into a direct war against Tel Aviv if it attacks Iran.”
He explained that “Iraq, as a government, will not have any response to Israel if it bombs targets inside Iraq, and the Iraqi government will suffice with issuing statements of condemnation and denunciation and nothing more, but the armed factions may respond to Israel, and therefore we say that the decision to go to war is in the hands of those factions, and the government has absolutely no control over the movements of those factions.”
The political advisor to the Prime Minister, Fadi al-Shammari, announced on Tuesday that threatening neighboring countries is unacceptable and embarrassing to the government, and the security services will not allow any party to target neighboring countries, and there is no political, governmental or legitimate cover for targeting neighboring countries, and we have succeeded greatly through direct and indirect dialogue in avoiding opening an unequal military front, which is of no benefit.
Al-Shammari also stressed that within the framework of the conflict with the occupying entity, there are active and influential parties that play their distinguished role in their territories, and Iraq has distinguished relations with various countries and has contacts with the resistance as well, and sometimes holds direct and indirect dialogues with them to control the paths.
These statements come after public statements made by National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji, in which he confirmed that the decision to go to war is exclusively in the hands of the Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and no other party can make this decision.
In addition, political analyst Hussein al-Kanani explains that “the factions certainly respect the orientations of the Iraqi state and its foreign policy, but the factions operate under a legitimate and national mandate, which is binding on them within the principle of unity of arenas in confronting the Zionist entity.”
Al-Kanani points out that “the resistance factions do not want anything from the Iraqi government to provide them in its war against the Zionist entity, and the government certainly cannot prevent those factions from striking Israeli targets. This is the position of the factions and Iraq’s official position is also clear and announced regarding what is happening in the region, and it is nothing new.”
He stresses that “the Iraqi resistance factions are ready and prepared for all scenarios, whatever they may be, and they do not fear any Israeli threat regarding targeting them, and they will continue their operations, which have begun to escalate in terms of quality and quantity, and there is no retreat from the principle of unity of arenas in confronting the Zionist entity.”
For months, Iraqi factions have been launching missile and drone attacks on Israel in support of the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip, but the escalation began to intensify since the Lebanese Hezbollah entered into the exchange of fire with Israel until the escalation reached its peak with the assassination of the Secretary-General of the Lebanese party, Hassan Nasrallah, following an Israeli raid in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Following an Iranian attack with hundreds of missiles on Israel in response to the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the Iraqi factions threatened to target American bases if America intervened against Iran or the "Zionist enemy" used Iraqi airspace to bomb it.
Israel is threatening to strike Iran, and is still discussing the nature of the targets that the strike will include, and this was the focus of a phone call between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden a few days ago.
For his part, political science professor Issam Al-Fayli explains that “the Iraqi government’s position is clear and announced on more than one occasion, and more than one responsible figure has announced that it is not part of the war or escalation, but rather in favor of calm and keeping Iraq away from any conflict under any title. This position came out of fear of Iraq entering the current conflict, due to its dangerous repercussions.”
He adds, “In Iraq, there are opinions. The first is not with the war, which is the Iraqi government, and the second opinion is with the war and escalation, and this matter is led by the armed factions close to Iran, but this matter will push Iraq to be part of the conflict, despite all the government’s attempts to keep Iraq away from the war, especially since there are official Israeli threats to target Iraq in the coming period.”
He confirms, saying, “The Iraqi government is unable to fully control the armed factions, such that it cannot prevent them from engaging in any military activities against Israeli targets, especially since the government does not want any disagreements with those factions, and this may negatively affect governmental and political stability. Losing control over the factions may cost Iraq a lot, by making it a direct or indirect party in the war taking place in the region.”[/size]
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