Iraq's National Guard Law and Its Opponents

On Tuesday, September 8, the 'National Guard' law prepared by the current Iraqi government was supposed to go to the parliament for a vote on its approval. However, due to strong opposition from Iran-aligned militias and the mobilization of their affiliates in the Iraqi parliament, the vote on this law has been postponed indefinitely. Although some news sources have reported that a series of meetings with leaders of various parliamentary factions are being held at the home of Salim al-Jabouri, the Speaker of Parliament, to reach a final consensus on this law, and some news agencies have mentioned the possibility of a parliamentary session in the coming days, tensions over the approval of this law have created a new division in Iraq, with the Islamic Republic and its supporters on one side and some Shiite factions and Sunni groups on the other. According to Article 1 of this law, members of the National Guard are selected from the forces of each province, and their duty is to protect the borders of their province and its cities and districts. At the head of this guard in each province is a provincial security council, which is the legal decision-making body regarding the operations of the National Guard. This council is composed of provincial representatives in parliament, the head, and members of the provincial council and can take security and military decisions for the province with a two-thirds majority. The most important clause of this law that has incited 'anger' among Iran-aligned militias and has led to extensive media campaigns against it is Clause 3 of Article 2, which explicitly and clearly prohibits the entry of militias into the Iraqi National Guard. Another feature of the Iraqi National Guard is that it prioritizes recruitment from former Iraqi army forces who have not participated in violent acts against the Iraqi people and whose hands are not stained with blood. Additionally, each member of the National Guard must commit to the territorial integrity of Iraq and refrain from entering political disputes and supporting political parties. However, the most important clause of this law that has incited 'anger' among Iran-aligned militias and has led to extensive media campaigns against it is Clause 3 of Article 2, which explicitly and clearly prohibits the entry of militias into the Iraqi National Guard. Militias such as the Badr Organization, Hezbollah Brigades, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Imam Ali Brigades, al-Nujaba, Salah al-Din Brigade, Imam Soldiers Brigades, Babylon Brigades, Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Sayyid al-Shuhada Movement, which have seized many government buildings and opened offices for themselves in various cities of Iraq, will lose their protective cover with the approval of this law and will be identified as groups contrary to the laws of the country. These militias received significant financial and political support from the government during Nouri al-Maliki's premiership, which Haider al-Abadi, despite his lawful nature, could not cut off. However, with the approval of the Iraqi National Guard law, any military and security budget within the framework of the law will be taken away from the militias. If this law is approved, the National Guard will play a prominent role in the fight against ISIS, especially in the provinces of Nineveh, Anbar, and Salah al-Din, and the task of combating this terrorist group will be assigned to forces from within these provinces. Despite the strongly worded statement from the Badr Organization faction in the Iraqi parliament against the National Guard law and the harsh remarks of Hadi al-Amiri, the head of this faction, accusing Stuart Jones, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, of interfering in Iraq's internal affairs and attempting to pass the National Guard law, and despite Nouri al-Maliki's harsh words against this law, the Sadrist group announced that they would vote for it if it does not contradict the higher interests of the country. The Sadrists' reference to the higher interests of the country refers to accusations made by Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi militia leaders, and the Islamic Republic against the supporters of this law, claiming that its approval would lead to the disintegration of Iraq. One of the representatives of the 'Ahrar' group affiliated with the Sadrists in parliament, Hakim Zameli, stated that if this law is studied carefully and does not contradict the 'higher interests of the country', they will vote for it. Meanwhile, Hadi al-Amiri, the head of the so-called 'Hashd al-Shaabi' militia organization, threatened that if this law is approved, 'Iraq will explode like a volcano.' In line with such statements, Nouri al-Maliki also described the National Guard law as a dangerous law that is being discussed after the 'Doha Conference.' Maliki's implication is that Qatar, by inviting several Iraqi politicians, including Salim al-Jabouri, is seeking the approval of this law in Iraq. While this law, along with two other laws regarding general amnesty and the federal court law, has been in the process of being passed for nearly a year. It seems that the goal of the Shiite militias and the former Prime Minister of Iraq from this extensive propaganda against the National Guard law, which Iranian media have also joined, is firstly to influence Shiite representatives in the Iraqi parliament to stand against this law or change Clause 3 of Article 2, and secondly to draw the religious authority of Najaf into this campaign and pressure it to issue a fatwa. However, it seems that these efforts will not yield the desired results for the militias, as a large portion of the representatives of the Islamic Dawa Party in parliament support Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's view on this law, which differs from that of Nouri al-Maliki and the leaders of the Shiite militias. This division among Shiite political forces will likely prevent Ayatollah Sistani from entering such a campaign. What do the Kurds say about this law? The Kurds of Iraq believe that the Iraqi National Guard law does not apply to their autonomous Kurdistan region. The Kurdistan region has its own military and security forces, and these forces do not comply with similar organizations in the central government. The Kurds in northern Iraq have learned over the years how to secure their own safety and defend their borders, and therefore the National Guard law applies to areas that have internal security issues and cannot defend their borders. However, this will not prevent the Kurds from supporting this law. A representative from the Kurdish forces coalition in the Iraqi parliament, Ashwaq Jaf, stated that 'the approval of such a law will help the Iraqi defense organization against the brutal attacks of terrorists and support the territorial integrity of the country.' With such statements, it is clear that the Kurdish coalition in parliament will vote positively for the National Guard law. In such circumstances, the opposition of the Islamic Republic and its affiliates in Iraq to this law once again places Iranian rulers in a fragile position, especially as Shiite citizens in Iraq are currently protesting against the past policies of Nouri al-Maliki, and Haider al-Abadi is showing the path of reforms to escape those policies. Recently, there have also been reports about the religious authority's dissatisfaction with Qassem Soleimani's activities in Iraq, and some experts believe that the National Guard law could further limit such activities. Therefore, Ayatollah Sistani may not only not oppose this law but may also see it as a step towards greater independence for Iraq from foreign interventions and take steps towards its approval.