{"id":5016,"date":"2016-07-15T11:34:20","date_gmt":"2016-07-15T09:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/?p=5016"},"modified":"2018-07-09T20:44:16","modified_gmt":"2018-07-09T18:44:16","slug":"iran-shia-militia-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iranfreedom.org\/en\/activities-outside-iran\/annual-gathering\/2016\/07\/iran-shia-militia-iraq\/5016\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran is supporting and equipping the Shia militia in Iraq"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is Iran\u2019s support for training and equipping the Shia militia in Iraq U.S. Army General Violence was planned for Baghdad neighborhoods\u00a0Retired General George Casey, former chief of staff of\u00a0<\/strong>U.S. Army<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0:\u00a0<\/strong>In my early days in Iraq it didn\u2019t take me long to figure out that the United States and\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u00a0had diametrically opposed objectives. We were seeking to empower a democratically elected\u00a0Iraqi government<\/a>\u00a0that respected the rights of all ethnic and sectarian members of Iraqi society.<\/p>\n

Iran<\/a>\u00a0didn\u2019t want a country like that on its borders. They bought political power by giving money to Iraqi politicians and political parties. They bought public support by giving economic aid, particularly in the south of the country, and they continuously fomented sectarian violence.<\/p>\n

It is\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u2019s support for training and equipping the Shia militia in Iraq that allowed the level of sectarian violence to be sustained through 2006 and 2007 and it continues into today.<\/p>\n

Because of that equipping and training,\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u00a0is also directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of coalition forces and thousands of Iraqis.<\/p>\n

SPECIAL COVERAGE: Onwards to freedom in Iran: Bipartisan voices call for democratic change<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

When we captured six Quds force operatives in a command center, on the wall was a large map of Baghdad. The neighborhoods were color-coded by their sectarian population. And on the map were large arrows that showed how the Iranians planned to force Sunni populations out of these neighborhoods in Baghdad.<\/p>\n

Any regime that uses terror to accomplish its political objectives is a threat not only to its own population, but also to the international community. Change needs to come to\u00a0Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Brig. General David Phillips :\u00a0<\/strong>Madame Rajavi, members and friends of the Iranian Resistance, and most importantly, those of you who are still at\u00a0Camp Liberty<\/a>, I have the distinct honor to get to know you at Camp Ashraf. In 2004 the Human Rights Watch published a report that was filled with lies and mullahs\u2019 propaganda. I wrote a letter to the president of Human Rights Watch and said I was so confident that the people of resistance at Camp Ashraf were dedicated to freedom, that I offered that my own daughter should go there. I feel so strong that the heroes who are now at\u00a0Camp Liberty<\/a>\u00a0are freedom fighters and will be remembered when\u00a0Iran<\/a>becomes free that they were the vanguard, that I would be honored if my own wife went to\u00a0Camp Liberty<\/a>today.<\/p>\n