Former Iraqi Ambassador To U.S. Samir Sumaidaie: The Militias In Iraq Must Face Justice – The Current Situation Cannot Continue; The Iraqi State Is Facing A Critical Juncture

Former Iraqi Ambassador to the U.S. Samir Sumaidaie said in a June 29, 2020 interview on Al-Arabiya Network (Saudi Arabia) that the Iraqi state is facing a critical juncture in which it must choose between reconstruction or disintegration, because militias are stealing, plundering, controlling state institutions, dealing drugs, and smuggling goods across the Iraqi border. He said that a state must be governed by laws and by a constitution, and that the time has come to resist ignorance, corruption, and poverty. Sumaidaie also said that even the simplest people in Iraq are seeing that the militias are plundering the country, and that it is time for these militias to face justice. In addition, he said that Iraqi Shi'ite militia leader Qais Khazali's recent address (see MEMRI TV Clip No. 8100) is a sign of weakness rather than a sign of strength.

Samir Sumaidaie: "What is happening now is a result of the October [2019] Revolution. Today, the Iraqi state is at a critical juncture in its history - 'To be, or not to be?' - as Shakespeare said. The time to make a decision has come. The state cannot continue to be as it has been in the past and as it is now - out-of-control militias are messing around with the security of the state, they steal, plunder, and control the state services, they deal drugs, and control the smuggling. This is not a state. A state must be governed by law and the law must conform to the constitution. The time to make a decision is now. To answer the question that you asked me: What [militia leader] Qais Khazali said is a sign of weakness, not strength, in my opinion. This is an empty threat. I think that the Hezbollah Brigades and the other so-called 'resistance' factions... I do not know what they are resisting. Now is the time to resist ignorance, corruption, poverty, and plagues.

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"We are now at a junction. There are two paths: the path of reconstruction or the path of collapse. It has become clear even for the simplest people, even for the tuk-tuk drivers, that these [militias] are criminals and thieves who want to plunder the country, and they indeed have plundered the country. Naturally, they are now defending their lives, their fates, and their continuous plundering of the country. It is time for them to face justice and to face the people."