Due to what was described as ‘latest developments’, Iraq postponed an announcement on the date for an end to the US-led coalition’s presence in the country.
Iraq’s Foreign Ministry announced in a statement this Thursday that it had to put off to a later time an expected statement regarding the end date for the US-led coalition’s mission in the Arab country.
Attributing the delay to unspecified “latest developments”, the Foreign Ministry’s statement said that the US-Iraq Higher Military Commission, comprising officials from both countries, discussed details of withdrawing advisers from military sites, but the primary issues still under negotiation are “the timing of the official announcement, as well as logistical considerations and other unspecified details.”
Baghdad and Washington have been negotiating for months to reach an agreement on the end of the US-led military coalition’s mission in Iraq amid mounting pressure from the Iraqi resistance groups to expel US troops from the country.
These militia groups have stepped up attacks on US sites in Iraq since October 7, saying what they do is in support of people in the Gaza Strip. They view the US administration as one of Israel’s main allies in the war against Gazans.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI), for example, has carried out attacks against US forces, including at the Ain al-Assad airbase on 5 August, to pressure US leaders to order their withdrawal. Five US personnel were injured in the attack. In response, the US has launched retaliatory airstrikes inside Iraq several times, targeting the groups.
The US has about 2,500 troops currently stationed in Iraq who have been operating there in an “advise and assist” capacity since December 2021, when the US military announced the end of its combat role in the country.
Speaking of a new date for the postponed announcement, one foreign ministry official told Reuters that the end of the coalition’s mission should be announced in early September.
“Iraq wants troops from the US-led military coalition to begin withdrawing advisers in September and to formally end its presence by September 2025, with some US forces likely to remain in a newly negotiated advisory capacity,” the Iraqi officials said.
US troops should have left Iraq years ago!
The birthdate for formal demands from the US to move its troops from Iraq was back in March 2018, when the Iraqi parliament approved a resolution calling for the establishment of a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops in the country.
Two years later in 2020, when the US assassinated the Iranian general Qassim Soleimani on Iraqi soil – constituting a major violation of the country’s sovereignty – the Iraqi parliament voted on a resolution calling for the withdrawal of US troops from the country.
The resolution specifically called for the “cancellation of Iraq’s formal request for US military assistance against ISIS”, which was issued in 2014. The US completely denounced the resolution and responded by threatening Iraq with sanctions if Baghdad persists on its demand.
