It seems that the meetings of the Iraqi Council of Representatives next week will witness serious discussions on the impact of the levels of US-Iranian escalation in the region, and the effects of that escalation on Iraq, there are three important issues will be raised on the sessions of the Council , the first : the file of the exit of US forces and the international coalition from Iraq, and the second : Concerning the discussion of the strategic framework agreement signed between the United States of America and Iraq, since its signing until now, it is not clear who is responsible for the protection of Iraqi airspace, whether it is an Iraqi responsibility, or it is an American responsibility, and the third file: concerns the possibility of accountability and questioning the staff of the Iraqi government ministers or some of them.
With regard to the exit of US troops from Iraq, it is known that Iraq’s money from oil revenues is kept in the US Federal Reserve Board, which is responsible for the money of Iraq, and in this context, a law or resolution issued by the House of Representatives in the direction of the removal of US troops from Iraq, may push the administration of President Donald Trump, through the US Treasury Department, to impose harsh and multilateral measures ,for example all Iraqi money will be subject to prosecution. It is now protected by presidential decree based on the security agreement between Iraq and the United States, and in the case of abolition , the reparations file , as well as accusations against Iraq of supporting terrorism, and the losses of US companies before 2003 will be reopened , and Iraqi funds will be withheld until the cases are resolved, let alone stop sending the dollar currency to Iraq, which will stop many obligations, and Iraq will be unable within two to three months to pay the salaries of its employees, especially those of embassies abroad, and Iraq’s international obligations and obligations towards companies, especially oil companies, and the country will be in a state of complete paralysis, similar to the days of the siege in the nineties of the last century, with a slight difference, taking such a step is playing with fire and undue risk.
The Iraqi Council of Representatives must think deeply before taking any decision or law that may constitute a devastation on the security and economy of Iraq, and that its decisions and laws are in harmony with the higher interests of the Iraqi people, and not at the interests of the US or Iran, it is a House of Representatives representing the Iraqi people under the dome of the Council does not represent Tehran or Washington by proxy, the Iraqi people will not accept to be locked in decisions or laws that increase their economic suffering, if the Iraqi Council of Representatives issues that resolution or law, everyone in Iraq is a loser and the Iraqi political class in the forefront .
Therefore, there must be a dialogue between the financial, security and defense committees emanating from the House of Representatives, the Prime Minister and the Governor of the Central Bank to reach political, legal and economic understandings to avoid Iraq risks.
As for the strategic framework agreement, so far it is ambiguous between the Iraqi government and the Iraqi Council of Representatives on the one hand, and the United States of America on the other hand, on the body responsible for the protection of Iraqi airspace, according to the strategic framework does not have a legal formula that indicates that the United States of America is responsible to protect the airspace and there is no legal formula that Iraq may ask the United States to provide assistance to protect Iraqi airspace.
According to some observers of the Iraqi issue that the Strategic Framework Agreement and the withdrawal of forces signed in 2008, confirmed the responsibility of US forces to protect the airspace of Iraq at altitude of 45 thousand feet, but below that, it is the responsibility of the Iraqi government, and that all drones – Aldron – fly within a range less than 45,000 feet, which is within the responsibility of the Iraqi government.
Therefore, the Iraqi government and the US administration represented by its embassy in Baghdad must put the points on the letters to know the limits of that agreement and the responsibility of each party, and this requires them to be in a high degree of clarity and credibility.
The third file concerns the accountability and questioning of some ministers by Iraqi Council of Representatives, which may amount to the dismissal or resignation of Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi.
Everyone knows that there is a political crisis between the “Popular Crowd” and the institutions of the Iraqi state, and speculation about the future of the Iraqi government, considering that the government of Dr. Adil Abdul Mahdi came as a result of a parliamentary settlement between the two largest parliamentary blocs: «Saroon» led by Mr. Moqtada al-Sadr, and «al-Fatih» Led by Hadi al-Amiri, backed by the Popular Crowd , after a parliamentary-judicial debate over naming the largest bloc, which is constitutionally entitled to nominate the prime minister, some Iraqi parties went on to consider that an international regional settlement protecting the government was nearing its end as a result of escalating Iranian – American tension in the region, which reflected directly on the relationship of the “crowd” with the government, and its refusal to abide by its decisions, especially on how to respond to air strikes to its bases, but the attempts of the “crowd” rebellion against state institutions quickly turned into an internal crisis between his poles, showed his lack of cohesion and revealed the conflict of currents weakened his position in front of the Iraqi majority demand to confine arms to the hands of the state and adhere to Iraqi sovereign decisions.
However, this crisis and this conflict between the poles of the government gave the PM a new maneuver margin, which enables him to fortify his position, and improve his conditions, after the attempts of the settlement parties to impose its agenda on the work of the government, at a critical stage where the level of criticism of the government increased, and the call to account it is risen, ten days after of its formation in October last year.
The Iraqi constitution guaranteed the Iraqi parliament the right to question and accountable the Iraqi government, and it is the government in which its ministries accused of corruption issues, and who accuse the government of this, are already members of that government, while Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi does not have a minister in the ministry or a deputy in the House of Representatives calculated on his political current, then who is the corrupt ?!
However, Adil Abdel Mahdi scores important points in his favor, easing the pressure on him, giving him an opportunity that may not be repeated, helping him to rearrange his priorities, and move faster steps towards achieving some slogans of reform, and independence, although they are limited, in making decisions, taking advantage of a group of political factors that are floated above the surface of settlement noting that a wide segments of the Iraqi street in all its categories and colors are betting on its ability to expand the margin of his move and liberate it from internal and regional constraints .He is an important reformist warrior for years against the big and funny restrictions imposed by the hardliners inside and outside the Iraqi parliament.
At this critical stage in Iraq’s history, he is in dire need of a multidimensional roadmap to get out of his crises, the threatening and intimidating approach does not address deep crises in the body of the Iraqi political system, but are tools that may be legal to gain time or temporary gain only. The body promises accountability and interrogation of the ministry, and may reach the level of dismissal, is the holder of the positions and privileges in it, and is also the body that runs the ministry through its economic offices.
In practice, Iraqi concern over the future of the government is rising, and at this stage neither society nor political parties or elites are ready to enter into a political vacuum that may occur as a result of the overthrow of the government and the difficulty of choosing an alternative if it is impossible. For the sake of the prosperity of Iraq , Iraqis have to stand by the reformist warrior, Adil Abdul Mahdi, who, through his rational policies, managed to spare Iraq from entering the US-Iran conflict, which is witnessing a relative breakthrough, and with his good national stance in avoiding polarization in the US-Iranian conflict, Adil Abdul Mahdi feels his strong position because he is aware deeply that this conflict must end at the negotiating table, and that Iraq not be the loser of that conflict, Iraq is in his reign has good relations with both Washington and Tehran. Therefore, we reiterate that all Iraqi political forces should stand by Adil Abdul Mahdi in order that Iraq to reap the fruits of its rational policies at home and abroad.
Iraqi Studies Unit
Rawabet Center for Research