Removal of counter-terrorism chief sparks controversy in Iraq
● Prime minister gives no explanation for general’s transfer
The Iraqi prime minister’s removal of a top military commander triggered heated protests over the weekend, amid soaring tensions between the country’s chief security partners in the region, Iran and the United States.
Prime Minister Adel Abdulmahdi removed Lt Gen Abdulwahab al-saadi from his post as the commander of the country’s elite counterterrorism forces and transferred him to the defence ministry on Friday, without providing an explanation.
The decision sparked speculation that some among Iraq’s Iran-backed politicians were uneasy with the commander’s growing popularity among Iraqis.
The Arab state finds itself increasingly caught in the middle between the US and Iran, as the two countries lead rival blocs vying for influence in the tumultuous region.
The 56-year-old general, who in recent years led the fight against Islamic State terrorists, working alongside the Us-led coalition, said he did not know the reason for the proposed transfer and would prefer to retire than be moved to the defence ministry.
“There is no job for me at the defence ministry ... I prefer to retire,” Gen Saadi said by telephone from Iraq.
He said that Mr Abdul-mahdi had informed him in a phone call that he had signed an order to move him to the defence ministry.
News of his decommissioning led most news channels in Iraq over the weekend. Many people were angered by what they see as the sidelining of a prominent figure credited with successfully leading several major battles against the Islamic State extremists, including the nine-month battle to recapture the city of Mosul after which the terrorists were declared defeated in 2017.
Gen Saadi is known to be on good terms with the Americans, who have been training and arming the counterterrorism force he commands.
A few hundred Iraqis protested in a district of Baghdad yesterday, with one supporter saying he saw “foreign hands” behind the decision – a reference to Iran.
Former Iraqi defence minister Khalid al-obeidi said the way Gen Saadi had been sidelined “raises more than one question mark” and said the winners will be “the terrorists and Daesh outlaw,” a reference to remnants of the Islamic State.
Former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-abadi tweeted: “Is this how the state rewards its fighters who defended the homeland?”
Gen Saadi, an officer since the days of late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, was trained by the Americans. The elite counterterrorism force he commands was also armed, trained and equipped by the Us-led coalition. He was wounded four times in battles against Islamic State militants. Iraq’s Prime Minister has also recently moved to disarm the country’s many Iranian-backed militias, seeking to bring them under the control of the national army.
The news came as Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denied his country would try to interfere with the forthcoming US presidential election, accused the US of initiating a cyber-war with his country and warned that “any war the United States starts, it won’t be able to finish”.
Interviewed by NBC in New York, which Mr Zarif visited this past week to attend meetings at the United Nations, he said: “We don’t interfere in the internal affairs of another country. But there is a cyberwar going on.”
“The United States started that cyber-war, with attacking our nuclear facilities in a very dangerous, irresponsible way that could have killed millions of people.
“So there is a cyber-war ... and Iran is engaged in that cyber-war.
“But any war that the United States starts, it won’t be able to finish.”