Iraq and the United States announced on Thursday that they will hold talks over the future of American and other foreign soldiers stationed there. Baghdad anticipates that the talks will result in a schedule for the withdrawal of these forces.
As part of the global coalition against the terrorist group Islamic State (IS), Washington has personnel stationed in Iraq; however, the prime minister of that nation, whose administration depends on the backing of parties allied with Iran, has demanded that the coalition go.
The negotiations, which have been anticipated for several months, will take place at a moment when tensions in Iraq and the surrounding area are high due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has resulted in an increase in attacks on US and other coalition forces.
According to Iraq’s foreign ministry, Washington and Baghdad decided to set up working groups that would eventually result in the creation of “a specific and clear timeline… and to begin the gradual reduction of its (the coalition’s) advisers on Iraqi soil.”
The ministry said the timeline would be contingent on evaluating the “threat posed by IS and its danger” as well as the “reinforcement of the capacities of the Iraqi security forces”.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin confirmed meetings would start “in the coming days” and said the process will “enable the transition to an enduring bilateral security partnership between the United States and Iraq”.
“The coalition’s mission to defeat (IS) will transition on a timeline that considers three key factors: the threat from (IS), operational and environmental requirements, and the Iraqi security forces’ capability levels,” Austin said.
There are roughly 2,500 US troops deployed in Iraq and about 900 in Syria as part of the anti-IS coalition formed in 2014 — the year the jihadist group overran around a third of Iraq.
A senior US defence official said the upcoming meetings would not be a negotiation on the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, but said Washington “sees a need to transition to a normal bilateral security cooperation relationship”.
Asserting that Baghdad’s request for a reduction in these forces is on the table, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh informed media that the US military footprint in Iraq “will certainly be part of the conversations as it goes forward”.
