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Jun 15, 2015
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Iraqi Shiite Leader Muqtada Al-Sadr Threatens the U.S.: If It Enters Iraq, We Will Target It Like We Target ISIS

#4961 | 03:19
Source: France 24 Arabic TV (France)

In a recent TV interview, Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada Al-Sadr said that if the U.S. reenters Iraq, "they will see more from us than they saw in the past." We will target it, just like we target the ISIS forces," he warned, calling the airstrikes "a type of occupation." The interview was broadcast on France24 TV on June 15, 2015.


Following are excerpts:


Muqtada Al-Sadr: If the American army, with its arsenal, enters Iraq, it will become an occupier, and we will target it just like we target the ISIS forces.

Interviewer: What happened in 2004...

Muqtada Al-Sadr: ...will repeat itself. They will be occupiers and we will fight them just like we fought them in the past. We will fight them with all our might. Of course, we have more expertise now. Our expertise on the ground has also grown, and they will see from us more than they saw in the past.

[...]

All the factions of the Iraqi resistance will fight the Americans if they return - the Mahdi Army, the Promised Day Brigade, and even the Peace Companies. It's true that the Peace Companies have their own special mission of liberating the land from the forces of takfir... The reentering of the American army into Iraq is completely unacceptable. Even the airstrikes they are currently conducting are unacceptable, and are considered a type of occupation. But this American intervention... I'd like to deliver a message to the Americans: America can no longer claim to be a superpower. It should be ashamed of itself. According to the estimates, there are 5,000 ISIS members at most, yet the greatest force in the world has been incapable so far of finishing off this terrorist organization, in Syria, in Iraq, and elsewhere.

[...]

Interviewer: Why do you think the Americans do not want to get rid of ISIS?

Muqtada Al-Sadr: America has a certain way of doing things. It sows discord in some place, then feeds the (flames) with wood, by providing weapons to the Sunnis and the Shiites. It fans the flames of racism and sectarianism... It gives the Kurds weapons... Then it watches from the sidelines as the rivals fight among themselves, and it celebrates the bloodshed.

[...]

I have significant disagreements with Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi. Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi should not interfere in politics in any way - not today and not in the future. It is a Jihadi organization, and it must protect its good name. The second important thing is that Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi must not treat the ISIS members and others the same way that the ISIS members treat us and others.

[...]

The Mahdi Army (was formed) to fight America. I did not establish the Al-Mahdi Army in order to fight ISIS, and I will not allow it to do so.

[...]

No, it's called the Peace Companies. The Mahdi Army has been suspended, and it is not fighting ISIS. It is the Peace Companies that are fighting ISIS. You should know this. The Sadrists should also know this. Fighting ISIS is not the duty of the Mahdi Army.

Interviewer: If the Mahdi Army returns...

Muqtada Al-Sadr: It will remain suspended... Yes it will remain suspended unless America returns.

[...]

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