Mattis on Iraq: Perfect or imperfect, welcome to a democracy in action
“Perfect or imperfect, welcome to a democracy in action,” US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on Friday.
He had been asked about the election of Hashd al-Shaabi elements that Washington wants to sanction during a press conference following NATO's ministerial-level meeting in Brussels.
Mattis added he never would have imagined, looking at Iraq in 2014, that he would now be discussing election outcomes.
“In concert with the new Iraqi government, we will capitalize on Iraq’s success and reinforce their long-term, counter-terrorism efforts. We cannot allow ISIS or any other terrorist group to terrorize the people of this region, again driving thousands of refugees from their homes and into Europe and elsewhere," said Mattis.
NATO is one of 74 members in the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. It announced earlier this year that it would provide training to Iraq's security forces.
The US troop presence in Syria has been under its premise that it was necessary — even lacking a UN resolution — in order to eliminate ISIS and facilitate border security with Iraq.
The US-led coalition is supporting the fight against ISIS in Syria on two fronts: in Hasaka to the northwest and in the southwest on the border with Iraq and Jordan at al-Tanf.
“We are still engaged, ladies and gentlemen, in a fight against the ISIS/Daesh caliphate. It is not over yet," said Mattis.
A Pentagon spokesperson, Eric Pahon, told Rudaw on the sidelines of the event that NATO's role is "invaluable."
Pahon sees NATO's contributions as creating "a long-term, sustainable force, particularly with the Iraqi Security Forces," explaining that NATO's continued role in Iraq will allow the ISF to remain a viable fighting force in the future.
"NATO provides incredible assistance with the train, advise, assist mission, in particular things like medical training," said Pahon.
Iraq held parliamentary elections on May 12 with Shiite-led lists taking the top four spots.
Iraqi law forbids members of its security forces for running for public office. Several Hashd al-Shaabi members resigned from the group, then ran in the election.
MP-elect Ahmed Ali Hussein told Rudaw on May 28 that he was proud his group is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.
“The American administration or the congress classifying the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq means nothing to us,” Ahmed Ali Hussein told Rudaw. “I take pride today, because today the American government lists me on the terror list.”
Hussein, a leadership member of the Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq running on the Sadiqun list, won one of the Shiite list’s 15 seats.
Sadiqun is a part of the Fatih coalition that won 47 seats, the second highest number of seats in the election.
Qais al-Khazali established Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq during the Iraqi insurgency in 2006, which was part of Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army in 2004. Also called the Khazili Network, they split from Sadr in 2008.
The Khazili Network has been close to Kata’ib Hezbollah, which the United States designated as a terrorist organization in 2009 for having “committed, directed, supported, or posed a significant risk of commit acts of violence against Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces.”
Iraq's parliament has voted to manually recount the election results nationwide.