Bloomberg Business quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Ramzy Mardini on the dispute surrounding the National Guard Law, despite the fact that militias working together against the law aren’t a unified force:
That confidence, which comes from its links to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, is helping to fuel a nationalist backlash against Tehran. Al-Sistani, Abadi and others say that while they want strong ties with their neighbor, they resent any effort to turn Iraq into a Iranian satellite state.
While some militias may now be working together against the National Guard Law, they aren’t a unified force. In fact, “with the Islamic State threat mainly contained to Sunni-populated territories, Iraq is witnessing a revival of intra-Shia competition between various parties and militias,” according to Ramzy Mardini, a non-resident fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council.
Abadi will need to maneuver between the militias, while asserting his control where he can, if he’s to survive politically, Mardini said.