Wall Street Journal: Victory Over Islamic State in Iraqi Town Has Some Cheering Iran
Shiite militias backed by Tehran claim credit for retaking Beiji, U.S. disputes it.
BEIJI, Iraq—A big victory over Islamic State here provided fresh ammunition for the many Iraqi Shiites who prefer Iran as a battlefield partner over the U.S., despite indications that Washington could soon intensify its battle against the extremist militants.
Shiite militias and politicians backed by Iran have claimed much of the credit for the Iraqi recapture a little over a week ago of the city and oil refinery of Beiji, about 130 miles north of Baghdad. Militia fighters danced and posed for pictures on tanks and armored cars near the bombed-out shell of the massive refinery there, Iraq’s largest.
But U.S. officers say the Iran-backed proxy militias known as Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, played only a supporting role. The bulk of the fighting was by Iraqi federal police and elite counterterrorism units trained by the U.S., the American officers said.
Still powerful Iraqi politicians and militia leaders have cited the yearlong operation to retake the city as evidence that Iraqis can combat Islamic State alone—or with help only of the Iran-backed militias. Some are now lobbying Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to rely less on the U.S.-led coalition battling Islamic State and more on the PMF.
WNU editor: Damn if you .... and damn if you don't. The U.S. has failed repeated over the years in waging an information war in the Middle East .... and coupled with its own many failures and broken promises, it is easy to see why the U.S. is incapable (and unable) to refute the accusations and claims that all of these competing interest groups in Iraq are always voicing and exploiting.
Iran Given Credit For Retaking The Iraqi City Of Beiji Even Though U.S. Air Strikes And U.S. Trained Forces Did The Fighting
October 31, 2015
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