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After the "Sadr Challenge"... American questions determine what is expected of the Sudanese government 2022-10-17 08:46 A-AA+ Shafaq News/ The American "Queens Institute" raised a set of questions and observations about the developments of the new political scene in Iraq, after the "Sadrist Challenge" page was closed. The American Institute, in a report published in English, and translated by Shafak News Agency, indicated an attempt to turn the outgoing Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi into a "scapegoat" for rampant corruption, at a time when it is necessary to wait to see how the Prime Minister-designate, Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani, will act regarding a series of files, Among them are reform, how to deal with the Sadrist base, the US military presence, the budget of the Popular Mobilization Forces, and the existing threat from ISIS. After the American report indicated that the Sadrist leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who was defeated by maneuvers and weapons, no longer had a rational path to power, he made it clear that after a quick sequence of events on October 13, Abdullatif Rashid was elected to the presidency, who assigned Al-Sudani to form The government, which may mean that "the crisis that afflicted Iraq since last year, has ended." The report added that the page "the Sadrist challenge has been categorically closed," stressing that there will be no new elections before another three years, unless there are surprises. He also pointed out that the issue of al-Sadr's continuing influence through senior bureaucrats whom he placed in a number of ministries depends on whether al-Sudani embarks on a purge of his appointees, similar to al-Sadr's commitment to his opponents. After noting that al-Sadr's response to what happened politically by choosing "Rasheed and al-Sudani" was "violent" as he prevented his supporters from dealing with the new government, the report said that the new leadership, in its quest to maintain the legitimacy of its broad support base, may look for some way from In order to tempt Al-Sadr to return to the game. He continued, "The way forward seems ambiguous," adding, for example, that the new team moved in order to prevent Al-Kazemi from leaving Iraq in an attempt to make him a "scapegoat" for the rampant corruption that had prompted many Iraqis to vote for Al-Sadr. While the report questioned what these developments mean for US-Iraqi relations, it said that for Washington, Al-Sudani is the "most logical" candidate among the names proposed by the coordination framework, noting that he is an expert technocrat who previously served as Minister of Human Rights and Minister of Labor and Affairs Social, and that "his blood is less bad than some of the other candidates." While the report stated that Al-Sudani was considered a product of former Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, he (Al-Sudani) separated from the Dawa Party, and the extent of Al-Maliki's controversial influence on him is not yet clear. In any case, the report considered that there are some difficult political choices for the Sudanese, who will soon have access to the federal funds bloated since last year due to oil revenues, noting that it is likely that the Sudanese, in order to deal with the state of discontent that exists since the 2019 protests, to Using the huge funds available in the state treasury to provide jobs in the public sector for unemployed youth. However, the report added that it is not yet clear whether Al-Sudani will move through the ministries and parliament to confront the three major issues facing Iraq, which are corruption, the failure of economic reform, the challenges of climate change, and keeping ISIS in its impasse. After the report indicated that Al-Sudani is "viewed as a weak leader," he said that the United States would pursue one of the issues represented in the funds allocated to the regular army and the anti-terrorist apparatus in the budget compared to the funds that would be allocated to the "Popular Mobilization." He added that Al-Sudani must also determine how to deal with Al-Sadr and his base loyal to him, as if he is completely excluded from the government, he may choose to create chaos, adding that after Baghdad prepared for the possibility of large-scale demonstrations after the election of Rashid as president a few days ago, nothing has happened. It happens, but he pointed out that it would not be wise to take this calm for granted, as long as Sadr is the one who moves the stew pot. In addition, the report indicated that it is not clear the nature of the coordination framework’s position on the US military presence, recalling that the decision of former US President Donald Trump to assassinate the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, and the deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, on January 3, 2020, It stimulated the Iranian-backed militias of the Popular Mobilization, and raised public demands calling for the departure of US forces. While the report pointed out that the Hashd al-Shaabi's relationship with the United States has become more complex, it considered that the forces of the Hashd, now in power, may be reluctant to make drastic changes. But he added that one of the indicators is what the new government will do in order to curb the military operations carried out by Washington in Iraq, which target the Popular Mobilization Forces. The report concluded by saying that "the most worrying" is the potential impact of Nuri al-Maliki on the new prime minister, recalling that Washington holds al-Maliki responsible for creating the conditions that allowed for the incubation of ISIS in Iraq, pointing out that what is worrisome is the possibility of the recurrence of such a method of discriminatory rule.