More about that militia that downed the C-135 : the specific militia is the IRI, which is part if the PMF. The PMF is officially a part of Iraq's security forces, and was initially formed to combat ISIS. For these militias to be actively fighting against the US during this not-war is actually a substantial escalation. Not all claims for credit turn out to be true, but even claiming to have done it shows that a very significant part if Iraq is allied with Iran, not the US. The PMF claims to have 200k fighters. Trumpy-boy and his current golden child Hegs-whatever keep talking about a ground invasion. That's already ludicrous, but it becomes even more ludicrous when you realize that Iran already has a full army in Iraq. If you see this as a convenient reason to attack the PMF, then I'd point to the fact that Iraq's oil fund is managed in New York City, and it funds 90% of Iraq's budget. It would be simpler to just delay a payment and then tell Iraq to stop funding the militias and sorry for the totally accidental delay.