U.S helps training & arming Iraqi PMU/Hashd

[f1000n]

This was reported earlier but dismissed given that no proof was available, proof is available now.

US SF units together with Iraqi army trainers are training PMU(Hashd) units in Nineveh at an army base, This comes after Iraq recognizing the PMU as an official military force.

Even though the US accepts and supports the PMU now, they still are at odds with some PMU units though wth the recent developments this is fading. This will anger Saudi mostly who stand against the PMU. Not only has the organization been legalized, the US has started to support them. EVEN THOUGH most of these currently being trained in Nineveh are not Shias but locals from Nineveh.

Some of these are 'Hashd al Watani' initially under the chain of command set up by Nujaifi/Turkey but they've been placed under PMU, which the US trains them under.
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vid and article:

The U.S. is helping train Iraqi militias historically tied to Iran


I only placed the important parts below

In a significant break with past policy, U.S.-led forces in Iraq have started arming and training hundreds of fighters belonging to Shiite militias historically known for having ties to Iran.

The sectarian militias are being trained for the operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul. While Mosul’s future remains uncertain, the cooperative effort is expected to strengthen the Shiite forces both militarily and politically.

The U.S.-led coalition has provided hundreds of guns and training to the fighters in recent weeks, indicating a new level of cooperation, although U.S. military officials quickly moved to downplay it, saying the fighters being trained have no ties to the Iranian-backed groups that targeted Americans in the past.

He said the recruits come from areas outside Mosul held by Islamic State. Once towns surrounding Mosul are recaptured, the new fighters will help secure them. They were provided with Kalashnikov rifles, 10 days of training and the promise of monthly salaries of $500 to $600, commanders said.

Pentagon officials stressed that the militia’s commanders will be screened and recruits must abide by the federal Leahy Law, named for Vermont Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, which bars the Pentagon from providing military assistance to foreign fighters who violate human rights.

U.S. and coalition trainers stood beside militia recruits on a firing range at a former Iraqi army facility south of Mosul on Sunday, offering tips on how to reload their rifles. The trainers said they have also been teaching the citizen soldiers how to stop battlefield bleeding and how to avoid and defuse bombs.

A U.S. special forces trainer in unmarked camouflage fatigues, who asked not to be identified because of security concerns, said he felt he was helping to save the lives of the fighters, many of them untrained civilians: taxi drivers, carpenters and waiters.

He said some had never handled a gun, but that they were enthusiastic students, more so than local forces he had trained in Afghanistan and Yemen.

Many of the recruits were Sunnis Arabs, but there were also Christians, Kurds, Turkmen, Yazidis and Shiites, commanders said. While many were untrained, some were former police and soldiers, including a few who had fought U.S. forces as part of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s army.

“We were enemies. Now we are friends,” said Usmat Mohamed, 47, a former soldier from a Sunni tribe.

Gahzi Abar, a commander with the militia who is a Sunni Turkmen, said “the reason that we became Hashd al Shaabi is that it is now an organized and legalized force.”

“Our affiliation is to our country and not to any neighboring countries,” he said.

Some experts said it was wise for the U.S. to make inroads with Shiite militias now, before Mosul is recaptured and a sectarian struggle for control begins in earnest.

“The more they get involved with them, the better understanding and avoidance of misconception and misapprehension between the two,” said Mowaffak Rubaie, Iraq’s former national security advisor, now a member of parliament who supported legalizing the militias.

“One thing that’s been realized by U.S. officials is that in Iraq, if you pull out, you leave a lot for Iran to influence,” said Renad Mansour, a fellow specializing in Iraq at the London-based think tank Chatham House.

Others warned that the training could backfire on the U.S.

 

[somebozo]

What is PMU?

 

[Serpentine]

This was reported earlier but dismissed given that no proof was available, proof is available now.

US SF units together with Iraqi army trainers are training PMU(Hashd) units in Nineveh at an army base, This comes after Iraq recognizing the PMU as an official military force.

Even though the US accepts and supports the PMU now, they still are at odds with some PMU units though wth the recent developments this is fading. This will anger Saudi mostly who stand against the PMU. Not only has the organization been legalized, the US has started to support them. EVEN THOUGH most of these currently being trained in Nineveh are not Shias but locals from Nineveh.

Some of these are 'Hashd al Watani' initially under the chain of command set up by Nujaifi/Turkey but they've been placed under PMU, which the US trains them under.

They are not PMF, but Hashd al-Watani backed by Turkey and ex-governor of Ninawa, al-Nujaifi. I don't think US will ever agree to train PMF forces.

https://twitter.com/x/status/809153897617100800

 

[f1000n]

They are not PMF, but Hashd al-Watani backed by Turkey and traitor ex-governor of Ninawa, al-Nujaifi. I don't think US will ever agree to train PMF forces.

https://twitter.com/x/status/809153897617100800

Just an update, aside from all the stuff I wrote below.
They are under PMU (gov chain of command) which is what's important.

https://twitter.com/x/status/809047859572178944

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I saw this report of Haidar, but the army commander in the video of the link below states they are linked to Hashd Al Shaabi, under their command. Haidar Sumeri must've not seen the video yet.

http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iraq-shiite-militias-20161212-story.html

This article goes about a Hashd unit trained by the Iraqi army and US SF, the Hashd Al Watani has no ISF training them, Turkey and Nujaifi make sure that they stay far away from the ISF as to keep them from falling under Iraqi chain of command. For this same reason they won't send them into Mosul as they're aware they stand no chance alone, if they were to send them they would disintegrate and seek help from the ISF which would place them under Baghdad's command.

If it's true that the above units are/were Hashd al Watani then they now are PMU units with no links to Nujaifi, Nujaifi will lose control (which he doesn't even have much) over these units as soon as they mingle with the ISF which easily will assume command over them.

But yes it's unlikely the US actually starts cooperating with the large PMU units (Kataib Hezb, AAH, Badr brigades). Eventually they should depoliticize these units and rename them as certain divisions/brigades to make the PMU a military body, too much political infiltration at the moment.

 

[Desertfalcon]

What is PMU?

In brief; the Iraq militia. They are under the Iraqi Army's sponsorship but they are local militia. There are Shia, Sunni, Christian, Yazidi, units, all dedicated to defeating ISIS/ISIL.