Ex-U.S. prisoner now a top minister
BAGHDAD — Just over 10 years ago, Qasim al-Araji was arrested a second time by American forces in Iraq. The charges were serious: smuggling arms used to attack U.S. troops and involvement in an assassination cell at the height of sectarian violence that engulfed Iraq after the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein.
Now, he heads of one of Iraq’s most powerful ministries.
With credentials that include training from Iranian special operators known as the Quds force and time spent as a guerrilla and militia commander, Iraq’s Interior Minister al-Araji is now trumpeting his respect for human rights and support for the U.S.-led coalition in the fight against the Islamic State group. But the forces he now commands have a long history of Shiite domination and abuse, factors that partially contributed to the rise in support for Islamic State in Iraq.
Back in 2007, al-Araji was held by the United States for 23 months. He spent most of his captivity at Bucca prison, including long periods in solitary confinement.
Today, al-Araji laughs off questions about lingering hostility toward U.S. forces.
“That’s life,” he said in a recent interview, his manner boisterous as he shuttled between meetings at a small Interior Ministry office inside Baghdad’s highly fortified Green Zone. “I was their prisoner, and now I meet with their ambassador.”
After nearly two years, al-Araji was released on insufficient evidence.
“I believe every difficult stage leaves something inside a human being,” al-Araji said. “Being a prisoner taught me patience, it made me stronger.”
Al-Araji — appointed in January — takes over the ministry at a critical time for the country’s security forces who are under increasing pressure to eliminate the last pockets of Islamic State control, prevent an insurgency from bubbling up in the wake of territorial victories, and repair their reputation in Iraq’s Sunni heartland.
After a controversial March 17 strike in Mosul that killed more than 100 civilians, al-Araji took a rare public position for an Iraqi politician: He defended the U.S.-led coalition and the use of air strikes in Mosul on the floor of Iraq’s parliament.
“My most important goal is to bring security to Iraq,” al-Araji said, “and (to achieve that) Iraq is in need of the friendship of the Americans.”