US Govt Seizes Websites Belonging to Iraqi Govt-Backed Militia

Justice Dept presents group as 'terrorists'

Jason Ditz 

Posted onSeptember 3, 2020CategoriesNewsTagsIraq, Justice Dept

The Justice Department is using its legal justification to take terrorists off the Internet to interfere in Iraq’s political structure, having seized a pair of websites belonging used as media by a Shi’ite militia which functions as part of the Iraqi government.
The websites, Aletejahtv.com and Aletejahtv.org belong to Ketaib Hezbollah, a militia which is an active part of the Shi’ite umbrella group in Iraq’s military, but which the US has political problems with, and has accused of being in league with Iran.

The Justice Department readily jumped from that to terrorist organization, seizing the sites in the name of “protecting our troops.” Its likely also about bolstering the current Iraqi PM, who is allied with the US but has struggled to coexist politically with the militias.

This is a dangerous precedent, with the US having a lot of political interests they’d probably like to intervene in by banning foreign media websites, and labeling them as terrorists seems to be a straightforward way.

https://news.antiwar.com/2020/09/03/us-govt-seizes-websites-belonging-to-iraqi-govt-backed-militia/