Several Iraqi leaders have criticized the US for what they view as tepid support in the ongoing ISIS war, but the harshest criticism by far came today, from Qais al-Khazali, the head of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a powerful Shi’ite militia that has been active in the war.

Khazali said he believes the US isn’t serious at all about fighting ISIS because they have no intention of defeating the group in the near-term, saying the US wants to “exploit (them) to achieve its projects in Iraq and in the region,” saying the US wants regional repartition.

Khazali went on to say that the US is undermining Iraq’s fight against ISIS by pressuring the Abadi government to limit the involvement of the Shi’ite militias in fighting against ISIS in the Sunni dominated Anbar province. The US has been courting Sunni militias to handle that fighting.

So far, the Abadi government has complied with this, using the minor Sunni militias in Anbar, though some of the Shi’ite militias, notably the Badr Brigades, have said they were unwilling to fight in Anbar, saying they don’t believe the Sunni towns are worth shedding Shi’ite blood for.