Axis of Resistance
Islamic Resistance in Iraq
The latest issue of Popular Resistance contains several useful articles on the topic of the so-called “axis of resistance” to imperialism in the Middle East. One of these, from The Cradle, reports that The Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) has announced its readiness for a comprehensive war with Israel in response to Israeli attacks on Beirut and Lebanon. The IRI is bracing for a possible Israeli attack on Iraq.
IRI’s leader, Ali al-Mahdi, has said that any development in Hezbollah’s war with Israel will “directly drag the factions into an open war without red lines.” Scenarios include an open war in Lebanon. The group claims to have carried out more than 44 military operations during the past two weeks against military sites inside Israel. Some of these were successful hits. These included a drone attack targeting a southern Israeli port of Eilat and an Israeli site in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank
“The Israeli occupation does not accurately announce the results of the damage caused by the Iraqi operations, but rather constantly lies or even tries to hide them from the media, despite our certainty that they targeted enemy soldiers, as well as Mossad headquarters or sensitive and important facilities.”
An IRI associate has warned that UAE, which is regarded as a pro-Zionist collaborator, would also be a target of the Iraqi resistance.
Lebanon, Syria and Iraq
Writing for Workers’ World, Richie Merino claims that the IRI and Syria are providing critical aid and defense against Israeli terrorist attacks and indiscriminate bombings, yet their contributions remain largely unrecognized. Alongside Iran and Yemen, they are said to be united in their material support for Lebanon and Palestine.
“Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has prioritized assisting Lebanese civilians fleeing Israeli aggression. The government has mobilized resources and formed a new cabinet under Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali to ensure immediate support for Lebanon”.
Merino reports that Syrian security officials have facilitated the safe passage of over 500 refugees from Lebanon, and that Syria is providing free health care to Lebanese refugees by means of free emergency and diagnostic services at major hospitals, while the Syrian Arab Red Crescent is distributing essential supplies at border points, ensuring safe transit for displaced individuals.
Syrian air defenses have actively intercepted Israeli missiles targeting the port city of Tartous in Western Syria. Note the significant presence of Russia in Tartous. Its naval base in Tartus is the only such facility Russia has outside the former Soviet Union. In 2017, Moscow agreed with Damascus to extend its lease on Tartus for 49 years. The agreement allows Russia to keep up to 11 warships there, including nuclear-powered ones.
Syria country supplies Hezbollah with missile technology and materials, maintaining a critical supply chain through secure tunnel routes. Hezbollah was essential in fighting the CIA-funded and armed “Free Syrian Army” (which worked alongside other militia funded by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey as well as the collective West) tasked with overthrowing Assad during the extremist Sunni campaign to overthrow Assad from 2011. This campaign was undone by the combined efforts of the Syrian army, Russia and Hezbollah.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has targeted Israeli Occupation bases in the Jordan Valley, including in occupied Naqab, the occupied Golan Heights, and occupied Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat), showing a commitment to destroying enemy strongholds at an increasing pace. Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani, Iraq has initiated humanitarian support, dispatching an aid convoy to Lebanon.
The immediate future appears to be one of attrition warfare, where the resistance axis employs sustained resistance and precision strikes to minimize civilian casualties and avoid all-out war.
US Control of Baghdad through Control of Iraqi Oil Revenues
Writing in the Orinoco Tribune, Hussein Askary considers US control over Iraqi oil revenues. He critique’s Washington control over Iraq’s oil revenues, established since the illegal US-led 2003 invasion, and which now operates in parallel I would add with US control over Syria’s oilfields in the northeast of Syria, which are protected on US behalf by Kurdish forces).
Askary reports that in July, the Iraqi Central Bank halted all foreign transactions in Chinese Yuan, under pressure from the US Federal Reserve, following a brief period during which merchants were allowed to trade in Yuan in an effort to combat excessive US restrictions on Iraq’s access to US dollars.
Trade in Iraq’s oil exports remained in US dollars. Since 2003 all revenues have been funneled directly into an account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a directive recently confirmed by Joe Biden this year.
“This executive order essentially places control over Iraq’s oil revenues under the discretion of the US President, leaving Baghdad with limited control over its resources and earnings”.
Following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, UN Security Council Resolution 661 imposed severe economic sanctions to isolate Iraq from international trade. UNSC Resolution 687, passed in 1991 after the Persian Gulf War, extended these sanctions. Iraq was allowed to sell oil in exchange for humanitarian goods like food and medicine, but the sanctions resulted in immense human suffering.
In the early phase of US illegal occupation of Iraq, US consul Paul Bremer decided unilaterally to house the account for Iraqi oil export revenues at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, allowing the US government to maintain tight control over Iraq’s oil revenues.
“From that point until today, the Iraqi Ministry of Finance has had to submit requests for funds to the US Treasury, which then approves or denies these requests based on its own criteria. This monthly transfer of US dollars – which are literally flown into Baghdad in pallets of hard cash – determines Iraq and its 40-million-population’s ability to pay for basic needs like salaries, food, and medicine…
“Whenever Washington feels that Iraq is not compliant with US regional goals, these fund transfers can be delayed or reduced…Today, Iraq’s financial situation remains dire. Despite having oil revenues piling up in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York – estimated today at around $120 billion – Iraq is burdened with a growing debt that matches this amount.
“The country’s inability to control its own funds has prevented long-term reconstruction and development, forcing it to rely on international loans. Ironically, Iraq has also become one of the largest holders of US Treasury bills, with investments totaling $41 billion in 2023.”
Theoretically, Iraq ceased to be under occupation in 2008. American forces are supposedly present in Iraq only at the request of the Iraqi government (but are incredibly difficult to remove whether Baghdad wants them or not).
Despite clear legal directives from the UN, the DFI account remains under US control at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Gargantuan amounts of hard cash flown into the country monthly feed endemic corruption by US and Iraqi actors.
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