“As soon as parliament announced on television the resignation of Minister al-Obeidi, the rebels began to shout Takbir [Allah hu Akbar, approx.] and congratulate each other on this event,” eyewitnesses said.
Khaled al-Obeidi is considered to be one of the key personalities in the fight against Daesh, as it was under his command that the Iraqi air force was victorious in Ramadi, Fallujah, al-Kiyara, Rutbah and other places where the Iraqi Army successfully defeated Daesh.
Sputnik spoke about this situation with a member of the Iraqi security and defense committee, Adnan Al-Shamkhani.
“He was dismissed by the decision of the Parliament after he was unable to refute the accusations. This is a common procedure for the resignation, the one who does not have evidence to refute accusations, he refers to the Parliament and the Parliament then votes.”
“There is no dependence of military operations on the Minister of Defense, as the Armed Forces depend on the General Staff as well. There are also Special Forces, a people's militia, federal police and other military units that are involved in military operations, but not subject to the Minister of Defense,” Shamkhani said.
He further said that the resignation of the defense minister will not affect the success of operations in Mosul, as there is a functioning operational military coordination center, which directs various operations.
“Today, even the Prime Minister mentioned that we are going to deal with Daesh now with a ‘bald patch’ in the government,” Khashimi said.
Talking about the minister’s resignation, it can be said that the Parliament's actions were constitutional. But this decision may influence public opinion in Iraq and the political situation.
“Certainly this decision by the Parliament is not for the benefit of the political situation. The battle for Mosul requires military strategy and a long-term plan for ‘what to do after the liberation of Mosul? ’
After Mosul is liberated, the political crisis, together with the economic one and the issue of refugees, is not going anywhere.
“Daesh is looking for any reason to rejoice over the political crisis in Iraq. Against the background of its huge losses, it will be pleased by any political differences in the country. Therefore Daesh remains to observe the political struggle in the country, and will naturally consider any political disagreement in Iraq as a factor that plays for the benefit of a terrorist organization,” Khashimi concluded.
