Subject: OT:Secret Israeli Bases in Iraq
https://responsiblestatecraft....

Two such bases [were revealed](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/0...) recently when an Iraqi shepherd stumbled upon one of them in the sparsely populated western desert of Iraq and reported its presence to Iraqi authorities before the Israelis killed him.

Any such outpost — established by any foreign government, for any purpose — without the permission of the sovereign country in which they are located would be a problem. The problem for Iraq is multiplied by the fact that the bases were established by [Israel](https://responsiblestatecraft....), making it an especially sensitive matter for Arab governments because of the Israeli subjugation of Palestinian Arabs and [doubly so](https://www.inss.org.il/public...) since Israel’s [assault](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press...) on the population of the Gaza Strip, which is considered a genocide by rising number of scholars, human rights organizations, and a[ UN Commission of Inquiry.](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press...)

Exacerbating the situation further is the purpose of the Israeli bases, which was to facilitate armed attack against Iraq’s neighbor [Iran](https://responsiblestatecraft....). The bases were part of staging for the war that Israel and the United States launched in February and that Iraq, like [other Arab countries in the Persian Gulf](https://responsiblestatecraft....), certainly did not want.

Hm Jewish chutzpah.