Thread by @TamerBadawi1

How Iraqi resistance axis media brought back Kata'ib al-Imam Ali (KIA) into KH/AAH line?

Thread:

KIA's SG, Shibl Zaidi, tweeted on Oct. 20 that "the next gov. is inevitably a national unity one because political blocs need one another & they are forced to accept the other...

...this is a reality produced by a distorted electoral process & political sharing process since 16 yrs. accompanied by deep and accumulated failure. Those who posses vetos & preconditions will only be a delaying factor to national consensus...

...or put themselves out of the equation and flock. Manual vote counting for candidates who legally appealed is a legal right and religiously legitimate. Delaying & rejecting this is unacceptable and things will end at manual counting because there is insistence & grievance...

...The map in the [Kurdish] region is clear & the same applies for the [Iraqi] Sunni brothers. So there is no choice for the major four Shiites (Sadr, Hakim, Ameri, and Maliki) but to crystalize a project and framework with a unifying vision for commonalities and challenges."

This statement: 1) is a direct breach to the resistance-backed position held by the Shia Coordination Framework, 2) failed to recognize AAH's SG, Qais al-Khazali, as a Shiite power node along w Ameri, Maliki, Hakim...etc.

Zaidi however strived to balance his tone versus the SCF.

The result? Resistance media largely ignored Zaidi's statement, esp. on Telegram. Sabereen News did not share Zaidi's statement. Tura News & few others however did. Ignoring the statement by several key pro-paramilitary media was a form of punishment by mainstream resistance.

Apparently, this contributed pressure on KIA's Zaidi to issue another statement to reflect his conformity with the mainstream resistance & traditional Shiite political actors' line (i.e. SCF). Zaidi issued this statement three days after (Oct. 23) after his first.

KIA's SG: "We read & heard the clear and unprecedented support from the UNSC & UNAMI for the election's integrity and the magnificence of the electoral process & its radiance before deciding on thousands of appeals, which reaffirms our conviction & certainty...

...about the suspicious role that the [UNSC/UNAMI] plays, especially that we know that it is a tool for the West in exterminating states & emancipatory movements where its role is adding legitimacy & hegemony over 3rd world countries with its dubious resolutions & activities...

...and an example is its position on the repression of the Palestinian, Yemeni, & Syrian nations & a 13 year siege imposed on Iraq with injustice & confirming the presence of WMDs, so who believes in its integrity is delusional."

In response to Zaidi's statement (that contrasts cleric Muqtada Sadr supporting UNSC statement), mainstream resistance axis media rewarded Zaidi for his latest statement by widely circulating it. For example, AAH's Ahad tweeted bits of it (endorsement).

How did Sabereen and Tura differ in circulating Zaidi's 2nd statement? 1) Sabereen shared the statement as issued by KIA w/o mentioning Zaidi, 2) Tura issued the statement in the name of Zaidi & called him "Hajj" (used for seniority and respect in the resistance community).

KIA's SG Zaidi is often associated w/ M. Kawtharani, a LBN Hezbollah convoy to Iraq, that KH & AAH have not been positive about for his alleged support for a 2nd Kadhimi term. Kawtharani's potential position is maybe why Zaidi issued his 1st statement.

https://twitter.com/TamerBadawi1/status/1446201532689657856?t=XCcxfCPQHhz8CrJmYwriLw&s=19

This is not the first time Zaidi appears to take a position radically different from KH. In April 2020, Zaidi appeared to cautiously endorse Kadhimi's premiership. Not limited to KH, that position was different from Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada's hostility.

https://twitter.com/TamerBadawi1/status/1256372186211909635?t=T3zB5JuWRQrQSPZlv_uQYg&s=19

KIA is assumed to be part of the IRCC (Tansiqiya), although not a very outspoken actor and it does not have a strong media dep., unlike other peers. See: this diagram in @Mikeknightsiraq, Crispin Smith, and @HamdiAMalik's latest paper.
ctc.usma.edu/discordance-in…