US concerns on presence of 100,000+Hashd al-Sha'bi in Iraq

“I share in your concern about Iran and their long-term intentions here. And certainly with the 100,000 plus Shia militia group members [Hashd al-Sha'ni or PMU] on the ground there, this is extraordinarily — big concern as we move forward on,” General Vot

US concerns on presence of 100,000+Hashd al-Sha'bi in Iraq

“I share in your concern about Iran and their long-term intentions here. And certainly with the 100,000 plus Shia militia group members [Hashd al-Sha'ni or PMU] on the ground there, this is extraordinarily — big concern as we move forward on,” General Votel said.

“We are engaged. I know the embassy is well engaged with the government of Iraq as they look to implement a paramilitary force law in their country,” he said. “We certainly have provided advice into that. We’ve given examples of how we apply and employ national guards, and other things here and how we would look at that.”
The US military is especially concerned that the PMU forces could disrupt counter-terror operations.
“Our concern I think with particular aspect is that the paramilitary forces [PMU] that remain behind don’t become duplicative to the counterterrorism service or to the Iraqi army and those types things,”

The US General said.

However, he say there is a valid role for the Shia PMU militias if they answer to the Iraqi government, and not Iran.
“There is a valid role for them and that they do answer to the government and that they remain like the other security services in a political entity. And so our very strong focus is in that in that particular area, particularly with respect to the Shia,” Votel said.
On June 1 2016 a top commander of PMU rejecting US aids appreciated Iran's attempt to help Iraq against Daesh: “The US did not provide any assistance. The Islamic Republic of Iran was quick enough to respond to our demand, and dispatched Major General Qasem Soleimani to Iraq. We were in dire need of arms and did not even have Kalashnikov rifles at our disposal,” 
Elsewhere Kurdish president of Iraq Foad Masoum hailed role of Hashd al-Sha'bi: "Hashd al-Shaabi has been a basic force in the fight against terrorists and has served Iraq a lot."
“Without Hashd al-Shaabi, Daesh could have reached Karbala and even Baghdad,” further he said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on August 10 hailed the presence of Iranian military advisors in the country's battle against ISIS terrorists and said the Iranian advisors were present in Iraq on Baghdad's request.

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