![US Air Raids in Iraqi Soils; Backlash by Administration and Public [Part II]](https://al-sarira.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1228105717.jpg)
The government spokesperson, Basim Alawadi, predicted that “this aggressive airstrike will push the security situation in Iraq and the region to the brink of abyss.” “We contend that the international coalition’s existence, which strayed from its mandate and designated responsibilities, is now a factor jeopardizing security and stability in Iraq. It also provides a rationale for Iraq’s involvement in regional and global conflicts.”
Alawadi referred to the American assertions that it had notified the Iraqi administration in advance of the strikes as “intentional deception” and stated they were untrue.
Top Iraqi military officials and Prime Minister have informed diplomats from the West that while they still feel the U.S.-led coalition and the intelligence, surveillance, and technological resources it offers are necessary in Iraq, their continued presence there now seems politically unsustainable.
Sudani called a meeting of Iraqi and American military leaders, stating that it was the beginning of a schedule for the withdrawal of soldiers commanded by the United States. About 2,500 American service men are stationed in Iraq, and another 900 are in Syria.
Washington’s emphasis on alienating Tehran has raised concerns in Iraq and Iran that it is now the main goal of the American military’s operation here. That’s despite the fact that their primary mission was to assist Iraqi and Syrian Kurds in their fight against ISIS.
The security void left by the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, when American occupation forces dissolved the country’s armed forces, is partially responsible for the emergence of militias. In that void, Al-Qaida emerged and began to unleash waves of bomber strikes against both American targets and unsecured Shia areas and shrines. This led to the emergence of Shiite militias to oppose both Al-Qaida and American soldiers. Iraq descended rapidly into civil war.
When ISIS, the Iraqi version of al-Qaida, emerged in 2014, dozens other militias were born. After ISIS was defeated in Syria in 2017, a lot of those militants were integrated into Iraq’s official security forces and placed under the government’s payroll. Many of the larger factions have greater ties to Iran, even though they are technically commanded by the PM of Iraq.
Part of The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose coalition that intensified operations against U.S. military installations from Iraq and Syria following the commencement of the Gaza war, are some of the Iran-affiliated militias stationed in Iraq. Commanders of the militia have declared that they will cease their attacks on American targets once the Gaza War, in which America is supplying Israel with weaponry, ends.
