The Iraqi government intends to expel American military from its territory in September. There are presently about 2,500 American soldiers in Iraq, spread over three major bases: one in Baghdad, one in the western province of Anbar, and one in the northern area of Kurdistan.
Meetings at the Pentagon on Monday saw the Biden administration resuming talks with a senior Iraqi team on the fate of the approximately 2,500 US soldiers stationed there. The latest phase of negotiations built on a year-long collaborative assessment of the Iraqi military’s skills, as the Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani is under pressure to remove American soldiers in order to achieve a political victory.
Defense Minister Thabet Muhammad al-Abbasi of Iraq was scheduled to lead the talks, which would also include participation from US officials from the Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the State Department, US Central Command (CENTCOM), and the White House’s National Security Council.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s desire for a schedule for the changeover from the current US advisory force presence in Baghdad to a more “normal” cooperative defense partnership following the 2014–19 conflict against the ISIS is anticipated to be discussed.
It’s unclear if it calls for the final evacuation of coalition forces commanded by the US or the change in name of some of troops under a different partnership role. During a brief Monday meeting with journalists at the Pentagon, Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder declined to provide a sneak peek at possible results of the negotiations.
Important for Iraq?
Yet, Iraqi authorities stated that the discussions cover more ground than only the coalition. Additionally, they will address US-Iraq security relations in great detail, which might redefine a major aspect of the two nations’ relationship for the ensuing ten years as the Biden administration attempts to find a diplomatic way to return to de-escalation with Iran and its proxy militias around the region.
The American public’s perception of Israel’s assault in Gaza has deteriorated throughout the Middle East, where Israel receives the great bulk of its armaments.
More than four years after ISIS was driven from the battle, US and Iraqi officials began a year-long collaborative evaluation of Baghdad’s present military capabilities in August 2023, marking the beginning of the conversation track. Seeking a second term as prime minister of Iraq, Sudani is hoping to gain political support for his ruling coalition, which is supported by political cronies of militias that have long called for the withdrawal of all US forces from Iraq.
