A BILLION DOLLARS TO PREVENT MALIKI… FINANCIAL INTERVENTIONS SHAKE THE SELECTION OF THE PRIME MINISTER
The spokesman for the Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades, Kazem al-Fartousi, stated on Thursday that one billion dollars was paid to prevent the Coordination Framework from proceeding with the nomination of Nouri al-Maliki for the premiership, calling on the leaders of the Framework and the country to free themselves from American control, and indicating that American control over the flow of dollars to Iraq is not subject to the reaction of the armed factions, but rather to the rejection of its policies in the country.
Al-Fartousi denied, in a televised interview followed by Al-Sa’a Network: “targeting Saudi facilities or infrastructure from inside Iraq,” stressing that “the target was the American military bases, in addition to responding to the sources of fire .”
He added that “20% of the strikes that targeted Iraq were directed towards the factions, while the remaining percentage targeted other targets,
such as the Popular Mobilization Forces, the tribal forces, and some areas in Kirkuk .”
He continued, saying: “You have not freed yourselves from American restrictions, and you say that the dollar stopped because of us, but the truth is that the dollar stopped as a result of the American dictates imposed on Iraq.”
He added, “Whoever speaks of an independent state and rejects any infringement on its sovereignty by the factions must enforce this sovereignty and prevent attacks, and not turn the state into a ‘gas station’ where American planes land even on rooftops, and free up his money and engage in real commercial transactions, and then he can hold us accountable even for a Kalashnikov bullet .”
He denied “the existence of coordination between the Iraqi factions and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard during the ongoing war in the region,” stressing that “the factions know their duties and objectives, and have accuracy in identifying information, and that coordination was only in principle, and does not exist at the military level .”
Al-Fartousi stressed “the need to respect the Iraqi constitution, which guarantees the right to vote and run for office,” saying: “We have won seats and we have the right to participate in the government .”
He asked: “Do you want to abolish the Constitution because Trump doesn’t like it? Do you want to suspend it because he refuses to allow factions to participate in the government? This is a question that politicians must answer .”
He pointed out that “armed factions existed before the constitution, and he could have stipulated their prohibition if he had wanted to .”
He explained that “what is being circulated about American messages is sometimes used to eliminate opponents within the political process and to monopolize positions, as some parties try to use the American position as a pretext to exclude other parties from participating in the government .”
He added that “one billion dollars was paid to prevent the Coordination Framework from proceeding with the nomination of Maliki for the premiership,” while he declined to confirm or deny the party to which this amount was paid .
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