Al-Hashd responds to Hale's speech

Shafaq News / A leader in Al-Hashd, Kamal Al-Hasnawi, responded today, Thursday, to the US Undersecretary of State, David Hale statements, in which he said, "Al-Hashd is an obstacle to the stability of Iraq."

Al-Hasnawi said, to Shafaq News agency, that "Al-Hashd is an Iraqi security institution, that has no external support, and any support that Al-Hashd receives comes exclusively through the Iraqi government."

And that "Al-Hashd is the one who worked throughout the previous period to stabilize Iraq and thwarted all the plans of the United States, by which it wants to create crises and problems on various levels."

The leader added that "the accusations of the United States to us are not new, and they aim to distort the image of those who thwart the American plans in Iraq."

Al-Hasnawi's comment came on Hale's speech during a Senate hearing, when he praised the reforms taken by Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, saying that "he had begun to restore the sovereignty of Iraq, by fighting corruption and control the illegal weapons."

The US official added that "the Iraqi people have ambitions for democratic rule, but the militias carry out assassinations, sectarian violence and theft of state resources."

On the US military presence in Iraq, Hale stressed that "it is to counter Iran's influence and eliminate the terrorist ISIS."

He added that "Iraq is able to reduce its dependence on Iranian energy within 60 days," indicating that "Washington exempts Iraq from sanctions on Iran for a period of 60 days to pay electricity dues."