At a conference in Tehran last year, Al-Khazali said that the Iraqi victory over Daesh was a victory over America, Saudi Arabia and Israel. In addition to toeing his mentorвЂ™s and IranвЂ™s line about the вЂњdowntroddenвЂќ and about вЂњglobal arrogance,вЂќ Al-Khazali echoes the official Iranian rhetoric, depicting an imaginary alliance between America, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, as the source of all evil in the region. вЂњWe also call on the Iraqi government not to be dragged into the lap of global arrogance in its economic, security and military contracts,вЂќ Al-Haeri argued, in a clear sign that the Iraqi cleric in Qom was unhappy with BaghdadвЂ™s warming relations with Gulf capitals. вЂњThis is the result of throwing themselves into the arms of the global arrogant powers after their loss of popular support,вЂќ Haeri added, claiming - without any substantiation - that Arab governments do not enjoy the popular support. вЂњUS President (Donald Trump) gives the countries of the Sheikhs of the Gulf a choice between funding his warsвЂ¦ and the demise of their governments,вЂќ Al-Haeri said in a statement. Qais Al-Khazali: A militant in politicianвЂ™s disguise He has taken as his spiritual guide Kazem Al-Haeri, a firebrand Iraqi cleric who lives in Qom, in Iran. He comes up with unsubstantiated accusations against Iraqi Sunnis, accusing towns such as Tarmiyah, to the north of Baghdad, of being a hotbed for Daesh fighters, calling for a military campaign against the predominantly Sunni town.ДЄl-Khazali has also been developing his brand. With Daesh almost annihilated, Al-Khazali has been left with little fighting and lots of time. But whoвЂ™s keeping count in Lebanon anyway? Al-Khazali even appeared in Lebanon, checking out the border with Israel, in a flagrant offense against Lebanese sovereignty. Since then, Al-Khazali has been one of IranвЂ™s most loyal militiamen in Iraq, so much so that he not only joined the Popular Militia Units (PMU), but also opened shop in Syria. Like Saddam, Al-KhazaliвЂ™s propaganda is one of cult worship, with news about him participating in various activities and giving opinions about everything, opinions that are usually posted on his Twitter account, too. With US assistance, Iraqi government forces captured Al-Khazali in 2007 and jailed him for three years, when he was released in a prisoner exchange for a kidnapped British contractor. Washington estimates that Tehran is responsible for the killing of 1,000 out of the 4,000 troops it lost in the Iraq War. Iran connected Al-Khazali to Musa Daduq, an operative from the Lebanese militia Hezbollah who helped to engineer a few of the most atrocious kidnappings and killings of US soldiers. Al-KhazaliвЂ™s miltia played a central role in IranвЂ™s two-pronged war in Iraq: One against US troops, the other against Iraqi Sunnis. However, he did not lose his connection to his Iranian handlers, who sponsored his defection from Al-Sadr to set up a splinter group, the AsaвЂ™ib Ahl Al-Haq (AAH) militia. Politics is rarely the strong suit of people with modest intellectual skills and, without a militia, Al-Khazali might have lost his prominence. Al-Sadr disbanded his militia, the Mahdi Army, and transformed his organization into a political movement. A few battles and months later, Al-Sadr realized that he had little reason to undermine a burgeoning sovereign Iraqi state. They were promised arms and training, if they would take on US troops in Iraq, according to declassified US investigations with Al-Khazali.

The Iraqi Qais Al-Khazali, a cleric who is also the leader of one of IraqвЂ™s most notorious militias, is one such hate spewer who pretends to be a cleric, when in fact his claim to fame is working as the operative of one of the many Iranian clandestine networks that sow war and discord in Arab countries.ДЄged 29, this graduate of geology accompanied Muqtada Al-Sadr - who had inherited the mantle of his father and one of IraqвЂ™s foremost Shiite clerics Mohammed Sadeq Al-Sadr - to a meeting with Iranian operatives. Such hate preachers become guns for hire, even if they insist on wearing traditional garments and pretending that they are pious and knowledgeable clerics. To make up for their inadequate intellect, they outmuscle their rivals, lead militias, and spew hate that they copy from their superiors. Some are street smart and talkative, often making arguments that reveal their shallowness.

But not all preachers of hate were created equal. Preachers of hate are unethical but smart.

Shadow of war discord