Washington. There was a stir in American politics and international relations when President Donald Trump carried out a dramatic military action against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and transported him from Caracas to New York. Immediately after this major action, Trump’s eyes have now set on the corridors of power in Iraq. After the recent elections in Iraq, the trends appear to be in favor of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, but Trump has issued a strong warning to Iraq even before the official results are released.
Issuing an official statement on social media platforms, Donald Trump clearly said that if Nouri al-Maliki returns to power, the consequences will be extremely serious and devastating. Trump threatened Iraq that if Al-Maliki becomes Prime Minister, America will completely destroy Iraq. He described al-Maliki’s policies as eccentric, claiming that Iraq had only progressed towards poverty and chaos during his last eight years of rule. Trump made it clear that if he came to power again, the US would immediately stop any aid to Iraq. Nouri al-Maliki is a powerful leader of Iraq, who has been Prime Minister twice from 2006 to 2014. Born in 1968, Al-Maliki’s political journey has been full of ups and downs. He opposed the Ba’ath Party during Saddam Hussein’s regime, due to which he was sentenced to death in 1979–80. He remained in exile for a long time and returned to Iraq only after the US invasion in 2003. He is currently supported by the Shia Coordination Framework, which has a majority in the parliament. The coalition believes that al-Maliki has no shortage of experience, while Trump sees in him Saddam Hussein-like tendencies and inclination towards Iran.
The main reason behind Trump’s displeasure is the Shia paramilitary forces that emerged during Al-Maliki’s rule and their close relations with Iran. As ISIS’s influence grew in 2014, al-Maliki formed several armed groups to fight Sunni extremists. The US has been demanding the disbandment of these non-governmental armed groups. US Special Envoy Mark Sawaya has already warned that not controlling these groups could lead Iraq towards collapse again. However, experts believe that it will not be so easy for Trump to intervene militarily in Iraq. History has shown that the US invasion of 2003 to remove Saddam Hussein had plunged Iraq into years of instability, sectarian violence and terrorism. More than 4,400 American soldiers were killed in that war and there was a huge financial burden on America. In such a situation, it will be interesting to see whether Trump turns his threats into reality or is this just a strategy to create diplomatic pressure.