Iraqis Mourn Kataib Hezbollah Leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. One country particularly caught up in the conflict between the U.S. and Iran is Iraq where General Soleimani was killed on Friday. Iraqi lawmakers have looked into expelling U.S. troops from the country. But a draft letter released by mistake on Monday suggested they might do that willingly. That was later denied by the Trump administration. But at the same time a report by "The Washington Post" suggests U.S. officials are preparing possible sanctions against Iraq if it expels U.S. troops. Arwa Damon is in Baghdad for you. What sort of sanctions might we be talking about here?</s>ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're not entirely sure, Becky. I mean, there most certainly are plenty of options, all of which would potentially be damaging to Iraq's economy. It's already in a fragile state. Remember prior to all of this, one of the causes behind the anti-government demonstrations that have been going on for months here is rising unemployment and the fact that there is widespread corruption and basically that people are, to a certain degree, struggling financially or at least struggling more than they feel they should be, given their country's vast oil wealth. But we were out earlier, talking to people about the possibility of sanctions. And while a lot of those who we spoke to do remember what it was like in the 1990s and just how difficult things were, they say that, if it happens again, this time around it's not going to be the same. They make the point that Iraq today is not the Iraq of the 1990s. The country is not an international pariah, as it was to a certain degree under Saddam Hussein. They have friendly relations with Iran and that they did not have back then, either. So they don't feel that the impact will be the same as it was back then. But of course, it is going to impact this country at a time when many people here really feel like they don't deserve any of this. A lot of the times when you're out there talking to Iraqis, they'll tell you, enough, enough of using us as a battlefield, enough war. Enough of this tit-for-tat that's playing out within our own country. Just please leave us alone. And we hear Iraqis begging just to be left alone over and over and over again, Becky.</s>ANDERSON: Mike Pompeo tweeting about Iraq earlier on today, expressing outrage at Kataib Hezbollah, the group that fueled the siege of the U.S. embassy recently in Baghdad. He calls them Iranian-backed terrorists and asks when will the Iraqi government start protecting its own citizens? This was prompted by reports that two rockets hit near the U.S. embassy on Sunday. As mourners prepare for the funeral of Qasem Soleimani in southeastern Iran today, Iraqis also mourning the death of the militia leader known as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Just how significant is his death and who are the military groups?</s>DAMON: Well, from the perspective of those who support what's known as the PMF, the Popular Mobilization Force, the paramilitary unit that is part of the Iraqi security forces, the death of the leader of Kataib Hezbollah, killed along the side of Soleimani, is extraordinarily significant. They view this and the Iraqi government views his death and the targeting of Soleimani as being aggression against Iraq itself.</s>DAMON: And look, this paramilitary group formed because the Iraqi security forces had by and large fled their posts back in 2014 when ISIS was sweeping through Iraq but almost nearly at the gates of Baghdad and hence this paramilitary force came into existence. But it was largely made up of former Shia militias, many of whom gained their experience fighting the Americans during America's occupation of Iraq. So they've always been a very contentious force. But they're powerful and influential.</s>ANDERSON: Arwa's in Baghdad for you with the perspective. Thank you very much for joining us. As the U.S. Congress begins its 2020 session, the I's have it. That's the letter I, as in Iran, impeachment and Iowa. Democrats still trying to find out more about that targeted attack that killed the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani on Friday. They're also battling Republicans over whether witnesses should testify at the upcoming Senate trial of President Trump. Remember that? And all this comes as Democratic candidates campaign in Iowa, the site of this year's first presidential contest. Here to put this together is a very good friend of this show, CNN's Stephen Collinson. Where do you want to start? We have three I's here competing for attention. The ball is in your court.</s>STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Let's start with Iran, given that this is the most dynamic story as lawmakers come back to Washington. We have two main strands emerging. The first one is the administration's refusal or inability to provide evidence of these imminent attacks, that it said that Qasem Soleimani was planning on, which is the rationale for the decision by the president to kill Soleimani last week outside Baghdad. That is causing a lot of consternation on Capitol Hill. Not surprisingly, given the legacy of the Iraq War, when faulty intelligence led the United States into a quagmire in the Middle East. The other question pertaining to Iran is this rather chaotic scenario of -- or revelations about how chaotic the national security process is. We had an incident yesterday, where, for a few hours, it seemed as though U.S. troops were pulling out of Iraq. Then the Pentagon, the Defense Secretary Mark Esper came out and said that's not the case. There does seem to be as well in the presence warning he's going to attack cultural sites in Iran, if Iran responds to the killing of Soleimani, a sense in which the national security process of the U.S. government is trying to catch up with the erratic and unpredictable pronouncements of the president.</s>ANDERSON: So -- OK, that's Iran. I want to move us onto impeachment. But I'm going to wind in a character here, who would be equally as interesting to talk to Iran about while he's still around. Former national security adviser John Bolton, who has suggested that he would testify at President Trump's impeachment trial. Democrats would want to ask him about some testimony at the House impeachment hearings. Have a listen.</s>FIONA HILL, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL OFFICIAL: Ambassador Bolton told me that I am not part of the -- this -- whatever drug deal that Mulvaney and Sondland are cooking up.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did Ambassador Bolton tell you that Giuliani was, quote, "a hand grenade"?</s>HILL: He did.</s>ANDERSON: How likely is it we'll hear from John Bolton and how significant is his testimony, should we hear from him?</s>COLLINSON: I think it's unclear whether we'll hear from John Bolton. If you were of a conspiratorial mindset, you might argue the reason Bolton said he was willing to testify is because he thinks he won't have to testify. You know, the Democrats seized on this as proof that the Republicans are trying to cover up what really happened over Ukraine by stopping a key witness from testifying. And the Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, the top Republican there, has said his position hasn't changed. So I think it's a political headache for the Republicans, just looking at the dynamics of what is going on in the Senate. It's not clear yet that Bolton's statement is going to break the dam and force Republicans to have Bolton testify. It may end up being a very good talking point for the Democrats when this is all over, when they say that the Republicans protected the president and covered all this up. As to what he might say, it's very unclear.</s>COLLINSON: John Bolton is someone who seems to want to have -- to continue to have influence in Republican politics. While he might throw Giuliani under the bus, I think there's a great deal of doubt whether he would necessarily put the president under there as well.</s>ANDERSON: Your 30 seconds on Iowa? What's the story?</s>COLLINSON: OK. Iran is very interesting, because Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders both seem to think the crisis could get them the nomination. Biden has portrayed himself as the commander in chief in waiting, saying this kind of crisis is exactly why he should be given the Democratic nomination. Sanders is tapping into this feeling of, oh, no, we don't want another war in the Middle East. So there's a real split in the Democratic Party here. It's interesting to see how this is going to play out.</s>ANDERSON: You did that in 29 seconds. You're a star. Thank you. I need to take a short break to pay for the show. Stephen, always a pleasure.