Zalmay Khalilzad: Iran outmaneuvers US in Iraq, Kurdistan

Speaking at a Hudson Institute conference on Monday, Khalilzad explained, “Iran very cleverly uses its counter-terrorism” efforts to “extend its control.”
kurdistan24.net

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US ambassador to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the United Nations, described how Iran was outmaneuvering the US in Iraq.

Speaking at a Hudson Institute conference on Monday, Khalilzad explained, “Iran very cleverly uses its counter-terrorism” efforts to “extend its control.”

That contrasts with the US, which is “very good at going after terrorists,” but is not very good at securing political gains that endure after it defeats the terrorists.

Iran acts as both arsonist and firefighter, Khalilzad stated. By “encouraging sectarianism in Iraq,” Tehran promotes extremism on both sides. It became a de facto member of the coalition against the Islamic State (IS), and then, once IS was defeated, it supported Sunni militias in those areas left devastated by the conflict.

“We assume that the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are all [Shia],” Khalilzad said, but there are Sunni militias, “working with Iran to control those areas.”

Regarding the current fighting between Baghdad and Erbil, Qassim Soleimani was “the architect” of that conflict. “In fact, last night, there was a meeting between the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Iraqi security forces,” Khalilzad stated.

Three of the four Iraqi delegates at that meeting represented “forces that Iran controls or Iran itself.” They included an Iraqi military officer, as well as a militia commander, a representative of Lebanese Hezbollah, and an Iranian, presumably, from the Quds force.

“How is it that the Iranians are there, sitting at the table in negotiations between Iraq and the Kurds and where are we?” Khalilzad asked.

That is a particularly poignant question, as Operation Iraqi Freedom was America’s most serious conflict in three decades—since the Vietnam war.

Khalilzad explained that Iran has “made great progress in influencing Iraq generally.” However, “there was a pocket” where the Kurds, particularly those associated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and President Masoud Barzani, “were more independent of Iran and [the Iranians] want to bring them to heel.”

“Especially in light,” of President Donald Trump’s new strategy against Iran, I thought “we would be more active in pushing back,” rather than just “watching as the Iranians expand their influence into yet another zone,” he said.

Khalilzad stressed the importance of denying the Iranian-backed militias the heavy US equipment they are using against the Peshmerga, including Abrams tanks.

“They either need to be returned to the Iraqi regular forces, or we need to disable them,” he said.

Khalilzad had earlier explained to Kurdistan 24 that the US could disable the tanks remotely, and Kurdistan 24 is awaiting a response from the Pentagon as to whether the US is considering doing that.

The former ambassador also said it was essential that the US make “loud and clear” that “all use of force” must stop. Then, negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad “must begin immediately.”

Khalilzad stressed, “We don’t want another Hezbollah in Iraq,” along the lines of the Lebanese model.

“That’s what Iran wants:” to create another Hezbollah for “burden-sharing when they run into difficulties,” he said.

That is one way they use these groups, Khalilzad explained. Lebanese Hezbollah is fighting in Syria, while the Iranians also send Iraqi militias there. “They even bring in Afghan and Pakistani [Shias].”

How do you reduce the cost of foreign interventions? Khalilzad asked. “Get others to do your dirty work, and that’s what they’ve been doing.”

Speaking about Iraq, and in the spirit of giving the devil his due, Khalilzad concluded that the Iranians “have been very effective, very clever in pursuing their objectives.”

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany