by MEMRI
"We will not lay down our arms at the end of [the war against] ISIS," -- The end would for them be "a call for reorganizing our ranks and preparing for the great conflict with the Americans."
In the past two weeks, the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which
is close to Hizbullah, published a front-page article and an interview
quoting Iraqi elements, who state that, after the Islamic State (ISIS)
is defeated, they intend to continue their military activity, focusing
it this time against U.S. troops who are now on Iraqi soil fighting
ISIS. The daily quotes "sources from the Iraqi resistance," as well as Akram
Al-Ka'bi, secretary-general of Al-Nujaba, a faction of the pro-Iran
Shi'ite Al-Hashd Al-Sha'bi militia (the Popular Mobilization Forces,
PMU) in Iraq. Al-Nujaba is included in the Iranian
Proxies Terrorist Sanctions Act of 2017, a bill introduced in the U.S.
House of Representatives on November 3, which aims to level sanctions
against it and its "officials, agents, or affiliates," including
Al-Ka'bi.[1]
It should
be noted that threats of harming U.S. forces in the region were also
expressed recently by Iranian representatives, to mark the November 4
anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran. For example,
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander Ali Jafari
said, on October 31, 2017: "The range of our missiles is
limited to 2,000 km... [T]he Americans are sufficiently situated within a
2,000-km radius around Iran. We will respond to them if they attack
us."[2] To underline these statements, a Qadr-F ballistic missile with a
2,000-km range was parked in front of the former embassy building for
the main Iranian ceremony marking the anniversary.[3]
The following is the translation of the main points of the threats by the Iraqi elements as quoted in Al-Akhbar:
Iraqi Resistance Elements: The Units "Are Already Prepared To Begin Their Operations" Against The Americans In Iraq
On November 1, 2017, the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar published
an article quoting "Iraqi resistance" elements declaring their intent
to attack U.S. troops in Iraq, who, according to the article, number
between 7,000 and 25,000. These elements told the newspaper: "We will
not lay down our arms at the end of [the war against] ISIS," and added
that the end would for them be "a call for reorganizing our ranks and
preparing for the great conflict with the Americans."
The article
added: "The American forces deployed in Iraq will constitute 'targets
for new attacks' to be carried out by the resistance factions who see
the American presence as a 'new occupation'..." It continued: "Today,
calls are increasing in Iraq for planning to carry out military-security
operations against the 'new [American] occupation' where it is
situated in Iraq. According to the sources, 'the [resistance] units in
charge of the confrontation [with the U.S. forces] are already prepared
to begin their operations.'"
The sources
presented the newspaper with three stages of the war against the
American occupation: the first stage, 2003-2011, during which, they
said, they "succeeded in defeating the American occupation by means of
Iraqi efforts and Iranian and Lebanese support, hinting at
Hizbullah." The second phase, they said, began in 2011 "with the
Americans' exit from Iraq, when clashes with 'the [Americans'] agent'
began, referring to the nucleus of ISIS and the terror organizations,"
and the third phase, which is yet to come, is, they said, called "the
post-ISIS struggle."
The article
also stated that most of the resistance factions believe that the main
goals of the U.S. and its allies are "the cantonization and division of
Iraq" and "'transforming the country [i.e. Iraq] into a forward base, in
order to close in on Iran from its western border in light of the
crises in the region. Accordingly the activity of the factions is aimed
at 'liberating the country' [in order to] thwart the actualization of
the goals mentioned."[4]
Al-Akhbar Front Page, November 1, 2017: "A Return To Confronting The U.S. In Iraq!"
Al-Nujaba Secretary-General Al-Ka'bi: Our Role "Is To Strike At Every American Military Presence In Iraq"
On November 4, 2017, three days after Al-Akhbar published
the above article, it published an interview with Akram Al-Ka'bi, the
secretary-general of Al-Nujaba, one of the factions of Al-Hashd
Al-Sha'bi (PMU). Asked about the stated intention of some of the
resistance factions to return to carrying out military operations
against the Americans, he said: "Yes, our main role in the resistance
factions, and one of our aims, is to prevent any occupation of Iraq. The
Islamic resistance [in Iraq] was established with the beginning of the
American occupation [of the country] in 2003, and therefore its role is
to strike at every American military presence in Iraq and to prevent it
from remaining, particularly when it is a non-diplomatic presence."[5]
Akram Al-Ka'bi. Source: Al-Akhbar, Lebanon, November 4, 2017.
[1] Congress.gov/bill/115th-
[2] Kayhan (Iran), October 31, 2017. See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No.1357, IRGC
Commander Jafari In Message Meant To Reassure Europe: Right Now, We Are
Settling For Missiles With 2,000-Km Range – A Range That Covers U.S.
Forces In The Region, November 3, 2017.
[3] See MEMRI TV Clip No. 6253, Iranian Regime Marks Anniversary Of 1979 U.S. Embassy Takeover With 2000 Km Range Missile Opposite Former Embassy, November 4, 2017.
[4] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), November 1, 2017.
[5] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), November 4, 2017.
MEMRI
Source: www.memri.com
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