The elite Iraqi
counterterrorism force that helped vanquish the Islamic State is back
patrolling the streets of Baghdad — but
this time they have a new mission: protecting U.S. restaurant franchises from
vandals angry over the Gaza war.
In recent weeks,
assailants have targeted several U.S. and American-style food chains as part of
an “economic boycott” of brands they say help fund the Israeli military’s
actions in Gaza. The attacks, including assaults by masked men on branches of
KFC and Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, began in late May after Iran-backed Shiite
militias called on their followers to protest the businesses.
The militias, their
statement said, “reject the use of Iraqi territory for investment projects”
whose profits they claim are funneled to Israel and its armed forces. The United States is Israel’s closest ally
and chief supplier of weapons and aid, but that assistance comes largely from
the government.
Iraq has responded to
the unrest by deploying U.S.-trained counterterrorism units across Baghdad to
guard against more violence. An effort, analysts say, both to reassure foreign
investors and signal to powerful, pro-Iran groups that government forces are in
control.
Targeting American
brands as a way to protest U.S. foreign policy is common in the Middle East and
globally…It
was a normal weekday night in Baghdad last month when the chaos first erupted
at a new KFC branch on Palestine Street. Dozens
of people, wearing masks and armed with sticks, descended on the establishment,
breaking windows, throwing chairs and destroying kitchen equipment while patrons
hid or fled.