"American forces are friends of Iraq"... Will al-Sudani pay the price of his recent statements to th

[size=33]"American forces are friends of Iraq"... Will al-Sudani pay the price of his recent statements to the Western press?[/size]
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1/18/2023
Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani recently welcomed the presence of American forces in Iraq and described them as "friendly", which opened the door to several scenarios regarding his future and the nature of his political situation within the Coordinating Framework coalition that controls the parliament that brought him to power, especially in front of the influential leaders of the framework demanding To remove those forces, in implementation of a previous decision of the House of Representatives.
In an interview with Western media during his visit to Germany last week, and his interview with an American newspaper afterwards, Al-Sudani described the American forces as "friendly", while stressing his country's need for them in the fight against "terrorism", specifically in confronting the Islamic State, and continuing cooperation with Washington on various aspects. levels.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Al-Sudani received McGurk in Baghdad two days ago (Iraqi press)

Frame upset and McGurk arrives

[rtl]It seems that Al-Sudani's statements about the American forces - to the German channel Deutsche Welle during his visit to Germany last week, and to the American newspaper "The Wall Street Journal" - disturbed some of the framework's leaders, especially those who are described as hawks, most notably former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the leader of Asa'ib. Ahl al-Haq Qais al-Khazali, who demanded the removal of the American forces.[/rtl]

This comes in conjunction with Al-Sudani receiving an American delegation headed by the US President's envoy and White House coordinator for Middle East and North Africa affairs, Brett McGurk, as the two sides discussed the overall relations between Iraq and the United States, and ways to strengthen and develop them at various levels and fields.
In 2020, the Iraqi parliament approved a decision in which it called on the government to work to end the presence of any foreign forces in the country, specifically the American ones, after the assassination in Washington - by drone - of the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Authority, Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, and the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qassem Soleimani, at the time. Their departure from Baghdad International Airport, January 2020.

The nature of the differences

A few days before Al-Sudani's visit to Germany and his talk about the American presence, news was leaked stating that there were sharp differences between the Prime Minister and some of the framework's leaders about the mechanism of governance, as well as the conclusion and signing of political, security and economic agreements.


This news is confirmed by an official source in Al-Sudani’s office, as he says, “The essence of the dispute between Al-Sudani and some of the framework’s leaders is due to the former’s attempt to prove himself as a statesman, and that he deals in an institutional manner with important events and files to implement the promises he made during the formation of his government, the most prominent of which is Holding early elections, and for his government to be one year old, contrary to the desire of some framework leaders who want the government to complete its life, as well as their desire for the Sudanese to be an employee under their command.
In an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera Net, during which the source stipulated that his name not be disclosed, he indicated that Al-Sudani was subjected to great pressure regarding the presence of US forces, especially by some armed factions, such as Kata’ib Hezbollah, Al-Nujaba and others, explaining that Al-Sudani’s point of view goes in a direction he does not want. In it, Washington will turn into an enemy of his government in the event that he demands the immediate withdrawal of its forces, and this may mean, according to the source, that the parties opposing the American presence will be a match for the Sudanese during the next few months, as he put it.
With regard to the nature of the differences between al-Sudani on the one hand and Khazali and al-Maliki on the other hand, the source explains that "on the political level, al-Khazali seeks to be the strongest supporter of al-Sudani than his al-Maliki counterpart," revealing that there is a trend within the framework to make al-Sudani the most powerful Shiite man in the Iraqi political scene after Al-Maliki dominated the political scene for many years.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Al-Bayati: The Sudanese government seeks to build a long-term partnership and friendship with Washington (Al-Jazeera Net)

 semantics

Meanwhile, political researcher Ali al-Bayati believes that al-Sudani's description of the American forces as "friendly" is nothing but a clear and important indication of the nature of the relationship that his government is following to deal with this thorny file, and that he is seeking to build a long-term partnership and friendship with Washington.
Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, the researcher (close to Al-Sudani) expects that Al-Sudani's aspiration will not proceed quietly with the armed parties that reject the American presence, which are calling for an end to its military presence, adding, "This will lead to a difference in views between the forces supporting Al-Sudani within the framework, and differences that may reach to break with other parties outside the framework.

Sudanese and the Sadrist movement

Perhaps the framework’s differences with Al-Sudani do not seem new, according to the description of the political analyst Musha’ih Al-Tamimi, who believes that Al-Sudani rebelled against some positions, commenting, “The position of the framework on some issues complicated the scene, and the prime minister wants to be a statesman, and this can only be achieved by taking positions that contradict The visions of the political forces that want to obtain more spoils at the expense of public money, and therefore the framework wants to return the version of the former Prime Minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi.


According to Al-Tamimi, Al-Sudani is aware of the seriousness of some decisions that some framework forces want to take, such as the withdrawal of US forces and their hostility, and therefore, his position was different on important issues, such as the issue of the dollar, the US presence, and others.
Regarding the possibility that Al-Sudani will turn to Al-Sadr to strengthen his position and seek to hold early elections to win a second term in the event that he loses the support of influential leaders within the framework, Al-Tamimi does not expect that there will be a relationship between the two sides, adding that “the Sadrists are outside Parliament, and they will not benefit Al-Sudani if ​​the framework is overturned.” However, the prime minister is aware of the difficulty of the scene in the event of a strained relationship with the Sadrists in the street.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Ezzo: Differences are becoming evident between Al-Sudani and the leaders of the framework (Al-Jazeera Net)

Repeating the Al-Kazemi scenario

It seems that the opinion of political science professor at the University of Mosul, Mahmoud Ezzo, agrees with Al-Tamimi's opinion regarding the tense relations within the framework, as he explains that "differences are now evident between al-Sudani and the leaders of the framework, specifically al-Maliki and Khazali, who are two of the main wings within the framework, in addition to Hadi al-Amiri." and Faleh al-Fayyad, who are trying to move towards a middle option that supports the Sudanese government in particular.
Speaking to Al-Jazeera Net, Al-Sudani's options are not easy in the coming stages, especially in the event that the crisis of the rise of the dollar against the dinar and other crises continues, indicating that what the prime minister needs is not only popular support, but also political support in order to continue ruling. According to him.
And in the event of the absence of political support, according to Ezzu, the Sudanese will lack the most important elements of support represented by the House of Representatives. Disposing of the available funds, in a scene that calls for a repetition of the scenario of former Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, whose government remained restricted for nearly a year, even after the recent legislative elections.
The professor of political science sheds light on another option, represented by Al-Sudani facing political difficulties by resorting to preoccupying the political blocs with the provincial council elections, as he had proposed holding them next October.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Al-Salihi denied the existence of any differences between the framework and the prime minister (Al-Jazeera Net)

What does the framework say?

Turning to the other side, a member of the House of Representatives for the Sadikoun bloc, which is affiliated with the coordination framework, Representative Rafik al-Salihi, denies the existence of any differences between the framework and the prime minister, commenting, "The coordination framework urges al-Sudani to work with the agreements concluded between the framework and the political blocs to form the government."


In his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, Representative Al-Salihi confirms that the framework is coherent and is still supportive of Al-Sudani, who was voted on by the various Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs in Parliament until his government reaches safety, while recognizing that there is a great burden on Al-Sudani who leads a government facing many challenges, according to him.
Source : Al Jazeera
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