US singles out ‘undisciplined armed actors’ in Iraq as impediment to stabilization

Author: Julian Pecquet
Posted March 20, 2019

The United States welcomes Iraq’s desire to be a “bridge” to its neighbors but will not accept “malign” Iranian influence that undermines Iraqi sovereignty, two top State Department officials told Al-Monitor.

In a joint interview today at the State Department, Assistant Secretary for Conflict and Stabilization Operations Denise Natali and Deputy Assistant for Iraq and Iran Andrew Peek emphasized the primacy of Iraqi sovereignty in US policy and a desire to work with Baghdad to address Iranian-backed militias that operate outside the control of Baghdad. The pair, who led a delegation to Iraq earlier this month, encouraged “balanced” state-to-state relations between Iraq and all of its neighbors.

“There has been a proliferation of undisciplined armed actors that are not under the control of the state,” said Natali. “That, to me, has become one of the biggest impediments to stabilization assistance moving forward, in addition to the lack of security or the lack of services.”

These actors, she said, have evolved from a security threat to a major drag on Iraq’s ability to rebuild in places like Mosul.

“This is moving from a security issue to an economic issue,” she said. “They are now operating like economic cartels, like mafia groups, in different parts of the country.”

Peek said the United States is not seeking to prevent Iraqi relations with its powerful neighbor to the east per se.

“We know that Iraqis are going to meet with Iranians. We know they’re going to trade with Iranians,” said Peek. ”What we want is for them to do that without being dominated by Iran.”

The nature of Iran’s economic system, however, greatly complicates matters. US sanctions aim to weaken the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Central Bank of Iran, which the United States accuses of using their dominant role in the economy to sponsor “malign activities” across the region.

“We need to make sure they get as few dollars as possible,” Peek said. “The goal is zero.”

Check back with Al-Monitor on Thursday for a complete transcript of our interview.