SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Thousands of Iraqis gathering at Jadariya, a neighborhood in the Baghdad city center at a rally against the presence of U.S. troops in the country, in Baghdad, Iraq on January 24, 2020. (Photo: Murtadha Al-Sudani/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
'Iraq for Iraqis': Hundreds of Thousands Flood Streets of Baghdad to Demand US Military Leave Country
"We want to see Iraq with full sovereignty."
Jan 23, 2020
Over 200,000 Iraqis protested against the U.S. military presence in their country on Friday, demanding American forces leave as requested by the Arab nation's Parliament in early January after President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani during the general's visit to Iraq on January 3.
"We don't need any foreign troops to be in Iraq, we need Iraq for Iraqis," Hoda Hashimi, an employee in the Ministry of Trade in Baghdad, told the New York Times.
Hashimi added that while U.S. forces are not welcome in the country, the American people in Iraq--most of them there on business--were.
"We don't want Americans to leave, we want the troops to leave," said Hashimi. "We want America to support our country but with contracts, not troops."
The demonstrations were a reaction to the January 10 announcement from the U.S. that despite a January 5 vote from the Iraqi Parliament expelling American forces, U.S. military personnel would stay.
According to the Times:
The protest was concentrated in Baghdad, and people were brought in from other cities to participate rather than holding smaller simultaneous demonstrations across the country.
Although the event was carefully organized and scripted by Moqtada al-Sadr, a populist anti-American Shiite cleric, and given heft by Iraqi armed groups close to Iran, it also reflected a genuine desire shared by Iraqis to have a government and economy that serves the Iraqi people and not outside interests, many participants said.
Video from the pro-government march showed a sea of people waving flags and chanting anti-U.S. slogans.
\u201cMore than 1 million Iraqis out in the streets today telling America to get the f*** out of Iraq.\n\nAbsolutely amazing.\u201d— \u0627\u0628\u0646 \u06aa\u0631\u0628\u0644\u0627\u0621\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf6\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8 (@\u0627\u0628\u0646 \u06aa\u0631\u0628\u0644\u0627\u0621\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf6\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8) 1579857860
Demonstrators rejected foreign influence in their country's affairs.
"We don't want any country to decide the fate of Iraq," protester Thurgham al-Tamimi toldCNN. "We want to see Iraq with full sovereignty."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Over 200,000 Iraqis protested against the U.S. military presence in their country on Friday, demanding American forces leave as requested by the Arab nation's Parliament in early January after President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani during the general's visit to Iraq on January 3.
"We don't need any foreign troops to be in Iraq, we need Iraq for Iraqis," Hoda Hashimi, an employee in the Ministry of Trade in Baghdad, told the New York Times.
Hashimi added that while U.S. forces are not welcome in the country, the American people in Iraq--most of them there on business--were.
"We don't want Americans to leave, we want the troops to leave," said Hashimi. "We want America to support our country but with contracts, not troops."
The demonstrations were a reaction to the January 10 announcement from the U.S. that despite a January 5 vote from the Iraqi Parliament expelling American forces, U.S. military personnel would stay.
According to the Times:
The protest was concentrated in Baghdad, and people were brought in from other cities to participate rather than holding smaller simultaneous demonstrations across the country.
Although the event was carefully organized and scripted by Moqtada al-Sadr, a populist anti-American Shiite cleric, and given heft by Iraqi armed groups close to Iran, it also reflected a genuine desire shared by Iraqis to have a government and economy that serves the Iraqi people and not outside interests, many participants said.
Video from the pro-government march showed a sea of people waving flags and chanting anti-U.S. slogans.
\u201cMore than 1 million Iraqis out in the streets today telling America to get the f*** out of Iraq.\n\nAbsolutely amazing.\u201d— \u0627\u0628\u0646 \u06aa\u0631\u0628\u0644\u0627\u0621\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf6\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8 (@\u0627\u0628\u0646 \u06aa\u0631\u0628\u0644\u0627\u0621\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf6\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8) 1579857860
Demonstrators rejected foreign influence in their country's affairs.
"We don't want any country to decide the fate of Iraq," protester Thurgham al-Tamimi toldCNN. "We want to see Iraq with full sovereignty."
Over 200,000 Iraqis protested against the U.S. military presence in their country on Friday, demanding American forces leave as requested by the Arab nation's Parliament in early January after President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani during the general's visit to Iraq on January 3.
"We don't need any foreign troops to be in Iraq, we need Iraq for Iraqis," Hoda Hashimi, an employee in the Ministry of Trade in Baghdad, told the New York Times.
Hashimi added that while U.S. forces are not welcome in the country, the American people in Iraq--most of them there on business--were.
"We don't want Americans to leave, we want the troops to leave," said Hashimi. "We want America to support our country but with contracts, not troops."
The demonstrations were a reaction to the January 10 announcement from the U.S. that despite a January 5 vote from the Iraqi Parliament expelling American forces, U.S. military personnel would stay.
According to the Times:
The protest was concentrated in Baghdad, and people were brought in from other cities to participate rather than holding smaller simultaneous demonstrations across the country.
Although the event was carefully organized and scripted by Moqtada al-Sadr, a populist anti-American Shiite cleric, and given heft by Iraqi armed groups close to Iran, it also reflected a genuine desire shared by Iraqis to have a government and economy that serves the Iraqi people and not outside interests, many participants said.
Video from the pro-government march showed a sea of people waving flags and chanting anti-U.S. slogans.
\u201cMore than 1 million Iraqis out in the streets today telling America to get the f*** out of Iraq.\n\nAbsolutely amazing.\u201d— \u0627\u0628\u0646 \u06aa\u0631\u0628\u0644\u0627\u0621\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf6\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8 (@\u0627\u0628\u0646 \u06aa\u0631\u0628\u0644\u0627\u0621\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf6\ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf8) 1579857860
Demonstrators rejected foreign influence in their country's affairs.
"We don't want any country to decide the fate of Iraq," protester Thurgham al-Tamimi toldCNN. "We want to see Iraq with full sovereignty."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.