Last day of 2019 ends in political humiliation for the US in Iraq

Crescent International

Jumada' al-Ula' 06, 1441 2020-01-01

Daily News Analysis

by Crescent International

The last day of 2019 ended in a major political humiliation for the US in Iraq whose ramifications will be felt across the entire Middle East.

After the United States carried out attacks against Iraq on December 29 targeting one of the leading socio-political movements which defeated the US and ISIS, the world was speculating about how the Iraqi resistance will respond.

Corporate media’s pundits were “analyzing” the potential response of Kataib Hizbullah in simplistic military terms which did not materialize. Instead, the Iraqi resistance responded in a very calculated matter employing the tool of popular legitimacy and political leveraging.

The mass demonstration and fury launched against the US embassy compound which doubles as a political and military command center against Iraq, highlighted the fact that neither the Iraqi people nor government want US presence in Iraq.

After invading the country in 2003 to get rid of the tyrant Saddam Husain and spending billions of dollars in propping its proxies in Iraq, the US has zero grassroots support. This is a grand political humiliation.

As Tehran University professor, Dr. Mohammad Marandi pointed out, “when Iranian diplomatic buildings are attacked, western pundits claim it reflects the will of the Iraqi people. When outraged Iraqis occupy the US embassy in response to the massacre of Iraqi soldiers fighting on the front lines against ISIS, pundits claim it's orchestrated in Tehran.”

Dr. Marandi’s analysis points to the fact that the US and its overpaid propogandists are simply unaware of the realities in Iraq and thus keep on committing military and political blunders.

The fact that the Iraqi government and people condemned the US violation of Iraq’s sovereignty constrains Washington’s future plans against Iran. The US invaded Iraq primarily to use its territory as a launchpad against the only functioning Islamic governance system.

The alleged presence of WMDs and human rights abuses were a mere pretext that no sane person takes serious today.

Any future actions against the Iraqi resistance movements allied with Iran are now significantly restricted as they have manifested a resilient determination not to sit idle and respond to the declining empire.

Every attack against Islamic resistance movements in Iraq will be followed by a response, and every such response will further undermine the US image as the mighty empire. This will erode its already declining reputation and influence.

In December 2019, Crescent International highlighted that that Mick Mulroy, the Pentagon’s top Middle East policy official said that “the Pentagon is trying to put the finishing touches on a plan to use irregular warfare tactics to temper Iran’s military escalation in the Middle East.”

Mulroy’s statement was an indirect admission that Washington’s vast military spending is unable to achieve US objectives and is, therefore, a colossal waste of money.

The self-proclaimed superpower is forced to copy the military strategy of a country that has been under severe sanctions for over 40 years.

The latest direct US attack on Iraq is the first sign that its irregular warfare has failed from the start.

Washington had to get involved directly since it does not have committed, competent and most importantly a proxy force with grassroots popular support.

The more directly the US is forced to intervene to attack the growing influence of Islamic movements allied with Iran, the greater will be its marginalization in the Middle East and indeed worldwide.

Trump’s pariah regime is nailing the last nails in the coffin of the US imperialism.