Former Iraqi FM Hoshyar Zebari: Shi'ite Militias In Iraq Are just Like ISIS

Former Iraqi FM Hoshyar Zebari said in an October 11, 2020 interview on Dijlah TV (Iraq) that the Shi'ite militias in Iraq are comparable to ISIS, and that they are targeting Baghdad and Erbil because they view them to be a part of the Americans' plan in Iraq.

Interviewer:"The shelling and the Katyusha rockets fired in Baghdad, targeting the U.S. Embassy compound and the airports, have served as a constant message to the Americans. Why was Erbil also targeted?"

Hoshyar Zebari: "The [Shi'ite militias] consider Erbil to be part of the American plan. Erbil is a close [ally] of the United States, which maintains a significant military and diplomatic presence there, along with the European Union that keeps consulates in Erbil. These [Shi'ite militia] groups are like ISIS."

Interviewer: "Like ISIS?"

Zebari: "Yes, ISIS also threatened Baghdad and then it threatened Erbil."

Interviewer: "They will be mad at you."

Zebari: "Let them be mad. These are the facts."

Interviewer: "Aren't you afraid that they will target you with their missiles?"

Zebari: "Let them target me. We've been targeted before and have witnessed chemical bombardment, missile attacks, and whatnot. But really, they follow the same logic. When ISIS reached the gates of Samarra in 2014, our people there thought that they would not target us. I was among the people who said to them: 'You will be the first to be targeted by ISIS.' We told them to beware and brace themselves because that is an extremist religious ideology, which is hostile to any progressive, secular, and democratic idea. They are against the tightening of Kurdistan's relations with the U.S. and the West."