(AhlulBayt News Agency) - In a TV interview on Saturday, the former Iraqi prime minister said “the US and Obama administration were behind the creation of ISIS in order to bring down (the Iraqi) government,” apparently referring to withdrawal of the Iraqi army from Nineveh Province in June 2014 after ISIS offensive in northern parts of the country.
“ISIS did not come from nowhere. But as the Taliban who were created by the US against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, similarly the US and the Obama administration were behind the creation of ISIS to expel the government whose head was Maliki. This is what Trump and several other US officials have said and they have discussed it in the Congress,” Maliki said referring to earlier statements made by US President Donald Trump.
Trump has previously said the vacuum created after US troop’s departure from Iraq in late 2011 facilitated the creation of terrorist groups including the ISIS.
During Saturday’s interview Maliki, who is currently a vice president, reiterated his earlier remarks on Kurdish independence quest and denied that the Kurds would seek secession from Iraq, calling the efforts “politicized”.
“The Kurdish people do not support independence. Some of the political factions trigger this issue only to channel the internal political crises in Kurdistan Region to Baghdad. Obviously, the Kurdish people do not support independence, but support their rights, services and well-being,” Maliki said.
He also warned against demographic changes in Nineveh province after the Mosul offensive which according to him would lead to further conflicts.
“Mosul’s administrative jurisdiction must be restored to pre-ISIS borders. There are several regions that are outside of the control of Iraqi army. I have cautioned about the situation in Mosul which could become even worse than under ISIS,” Maliki said.
“There is an abundance of oil in these regions. Turkey has been eyeing Iraqi soil and some Iraqi factions play along with this agenda,” he said without mentioning any parties.
/106
