i accidentally played this video on full volume in class and the girl next to me asked "is that the smash hit contact by kelela?” so i said yes and she said “OHH IT’S A SAUNA" and the whole class responded “HERE IF YOU WANNAAAAAAA” in unison and clapped
I’d like to make one thing clear: These attacks are, by definition, launched by the government of Iraq.
In 2016 the council of representatives and the presidency of Iraq signed decree number 40 which states that the Hashd al Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation Forces; PMF) are part of the Iraqi security forces under the authority of the federal government.
We can entertain the diplomatic lingo and say that these are *outlawed/terroristic* groups but defacto:
The Iraqi federal government is paying their salaries and cost of war.
Continuing to ignore this bitter reality will only worsen the situation.
It will ease pressure on the Iraqi government to stop their forces from attacking the KRG and neighbouring countries; it will also create - yet again - the opportunity for the currently Iraqi government to slip away from being held accountable.
What needs to be done is to face this problem - by calling out the government so that it tackles the problem it created.