A leader in the BIM company stresses the importance of keeping the American forces in Iraq

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[size=52]A leader in the BIM company stresses the importance of keeping the American forces in Iraq[/size]

[size=45]Translated by: Hamed Ahmed[/size]
[size=45]A leader in the Peshmerga forces affiliated with the Kurdistan region spoke about the importance of the US forces remaining in Iraq, warning against the country remaining exposed to the terrorist organization ISIS and repeating the experience of Afghanistan. General Sirwan Barzani said, according to a report by (The National) news website translated by (Al-Mada), that "if the American forces and NATO forces withdraw from Iraq, their re-intervention again will be much more difficult and costly."[/size]
[size=45]Barzani added, "The terrorist organization ISIS, which estimates the number of its militants in Iraq at nearly 7 thousand people, is waiting for the opportunity to shrink the size of foreign forces in the country."[/size]
[size=45]The report indicated that "the size of the American forces currently present in Iraq, despite the pressure of the ongoing war in Ukraine, is still at 2,000 soldiers deployed at Al-Assad Air Base in western Iraq, Camp Victory in Baghdad, and at another base near Erbil in the Kurdistan region."[/size]
[size=45]The report spoke of "a significant number of NATO forces, estimated at about 4,000 soldiers, who are present for the purposes of training the Iraqi army."[/size]
[size=45]General Barzani returned to say, "Everything we have achieved will be subject to disintegration, without the continued support of the United States and NATO."[/size]
[size=45]Barzani added, "ISIS militants may have lost the lands they occupied and their ability to carry out attacks on the West, but they have not lost their bloody desires."[/size]
[size=45]And Barzani finds, “The militants of the organization are patient, as they believe that the West has begun to divert its attention and that the United States no longer cares about the Middle East.”[/size]
[size=45]The military commander of the Peshmerga forces had retired from the army in 2000, but he returned in 2014 during the invasion of the terrorist organization ISIS over large areas of Iraq, and he personally led more than 150 fighters to defend Erbil, confronting the threats of ISIS organization and making them retreat with the help of coalition air strikes.[/size]
[size=45]But now he fears the possibility that ISIS will return in force, and General Barzani, speaking from his residence in Erbil, said, “ISIS militants are using their time to regroup and strengthen their armament.”[/size]
[size=45]The report stressed, "There are fears in Iraq that America may withdraw its forces, as it did in Afghanistan in 2021, and the terrorist organization will control the situation."[/size]
[size=45]However, General Barzani expressed his belief that "the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq in 2011 had an impact on strengthening the strength of ISIS in reorganizing its ranks in Iraq and Syria."[/size]
[size=45]Barzani continues, "If the United States abandons its presence on the battlefield in Iraq, ISIS will take advantage of the opportunity, which will expose Iraq to the danger of becoming another Afghanistan and pose a threat to the region and the world."[/size]
[size=45]And Barazni goes on, "US air power and special forces helped defeat ISIS during the previous threat to the organization, and coalition forces are still vital to Iraq's security."[/size]
[size=45]During an interview he conducted last week with The Wall Street Journal, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani stressed “the need for Western forces to remain in Iraq,” stressing that “Iraq needs foreign forces because uprooting ISIS requires more time.”[/size]
[size=45]General Barzani agrees with "what Al-Sudani mentioned, indicating that Western support is vital to maintaining Iraq's security."[/size]
[size=45]Barzani added, "ISIS militants will continue to take advantage of any opportunity in which they maintain a foothold through which they launch their terrorist campaign."[/size]
[size=45]The report pointed out, "While the world is now focusing its attention on the war in Ukraine and somewhat less on China, its focus on ISIS has faded."[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, the report stated, "The terrorist organization has begun to regain its strength in large parts of western, central and southern Africa, as well as Mozambique."[/size]
[size=45]General Barzani said, "ISIS is exploiting its hideouts and bases to plan and launch terrorist attacks against US allies, and while the threat of the organization is still weak, it is better to address it now and eliminate it instead of the need for greater intervention in the future."[/size]
[size=45]At the same time, Barzani spoke of "the need for the participation of American and Western forces to remain, because the task is not over yet."[/size]
[size=45]And Barzani finds, "This means that there is an American combat force on the ground in Iraq to continue its operations to detect and eliminate ISIS militants."[/size]
[size=45]Barzani pointed out that "the Peshmerga forces also need military equipment, including armored vehicles and weapons."[/size]
[size=45]General Barzani called, “Western powers to remain focused on the threat of terrorism to the Middle East region. Although there are battles in other parts of the world.”[/size]
[size=45]Barzani added, "As long as ISIS militants are free and carry out attacks, their threat will continue, and they will continue to recruit and seduce many followers in the West."[/size]
[size=45]The terrorist organization ISIS had occupied a number of provinces in mid-2014 before the Iraqi forces, with the support of the international coalition, managed to defeat it in a battle that continued until 2017.[/size]
[size=45]About (The National) news site[/size]
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