Today, the Iraqi-American negotiations are returning again amid the escalation of the factions

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[size=52]Today, the Iraqi-American negotiations are returning again amid the escalation of the factions[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqi-American dialogues are scheduled to resume today, Sunday, after being suspended for several days due to the killing of 3 Americans at a military base in Jordan. The announcement of the start of negotiations again to determine the future of the coalition forces facing ISIS in Iraq came the day after the killing of a prominent leader in the Hezbollah Brigades in an American raid. On the other hand, the group calling itself the “Iraqi Resistance” took an escalatory step and called for people to join its ranks to “expel the American forces.”[/size]
[size=45]Another politician and professor of public policy says that the United States will “toughen its terms,” and Washington’s options for responding to the factions are “open.”[/size]
[size=45]Yahya Rasoul, the military spokesman for the government, said the day before yesterday that the Iraqi-American committee is meeting on Sunday (today) to discuss and schedule the end of the coalition’s mission.[/size]
[size=45]He added in a statement, “To discuss and schedule the end of the international coalition’s mission in Iraq, the Supreme Bilateral Military Technical Committee between Iraq and the United States of America will resume its work next Sunday, February 11, 2024.”[/size]
[size=45]Since the killing of 3 Americans by faction missiles on Tower 22 (a small American base) in Jordan last month, communication between Iraq and the United States has been cut off.[/size]
[size=45]Last week, the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein stressed, in a phone call with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the necessity of returning to dialogue and the negotiating table to discuss the future of the international military coalition led by the United States in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Talks between the two countries began last January, but less than 24 hours later, three American soldiers were killed in an attack that the United States said was launched by factions allied with Iran in Syria and Iraq. The talks have since stopped.[/size]
[size=45]The Foreign Ministry stated that the call between Fouad Hussein and Blinken touched on “the attacks launched by the United States of America on military and civilian sites in the Akashat and Al-Qaim regions, which targeted Iraqi security forces and resulted in the martyrdom of a number of security forces and Iraqi civilians.”[/size]
[size=45]Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani revealed a “equation” regarding mutual attacks between armed factions and American forces.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sudani said in statements to an Arab channel, “A formula has been reached: the factions stop their attacks in exchange for stopping the American response.”[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that “ending the mission of the international coalition to fight ISIS aims to remove all justifications for attacks on its advisors,” stressing that “any military attack on Iraqi territory is rejected by any party.”[/size]
[size=45]He also explained that the international coalition began with an Iraqi request “and will also end with an Iraqi request.” He added, "We do not have any contact with America after the recent attack," explaining that "the Kurdistan region is part of the negotiations to remove the coalition forces."[/size]
[size=45]Since the Hezbollah Brigades, one of the branches of the so-called “Iraqi Resistance,” announced the suspension of attacks against American forces more than a week ago, the level of attacks in Iraq in particular has declined.[/size]
[size=45]But Harakat al-Nujaba, a partner of the Hezbollah Brigades, had refused to stop the attacks, which embarrassed the Iraqi government, according to a political source.[/size]
[size=45]End of the truce[/size]
[size=45]The temporary calm did not last long, as the group calling itself the “Iraqi Resistance” returned to escalation again against the United States, against the backdrop of the killing of Abu Baqir al-Saadi, a leader in the Hezbollah Brigades.[/size]
[size=45]Last Wednesday, the US Central Command claimed responsibility for the attack that targeted the leader of the Hezbollah Brigades, Abu Baqir al-Saadi, in the Al-Mashtal area, east of the capital, Baghdad, indicating that he was responsible for the attacks targeting its forces in the region.[/size]
[size=45]A statement by the armed factions said, “The occupying enemy does not abandon its meanness and treachery, and only understands the language of weapons (...) and its crimes were increased by its assassination of the senior commander Abu Baqir Al-Saadi in Baghdad, thus violating all the rules of engagement.”[/size]
[size=45]The statement added: “We call on our brothers in jihad to join the ranks of the resistance, to be determined to participate effectively in expelling the occupation at this historical stage in Iraq and the region.”[/size]
[size=45]It is believed that Al-Saadi holds more than one position in Iraqi armed groups, including the official in charge of the missile and drone unit within the “phalanges,” and the actual leader of the group, in addition to having served as the official in charge of the “Syria military file” in the same faction.[/size]
[size=45]The US command said in a statement, “At 9:30 pm on February 7, US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces launched a unilateral strike in Iraq in response to attacks on US service members, killing the Kataib Hezbollah commander responsible for planning.” Direct and participate in attacks on American forces in the region. “There are no indications of collateral damage or civilian casualties at this time.”[/size]
[size=45]Baghdad considered the killing of Abu Baqir al-Saadi to push the Iraqi government more than ever before to end the mission of the international coalition, which “has turned into a factor of instability for Iraq,” according to an official statement.[/size]
[size=45]October 7 variables[/size]
[size=45]Mathal Al-Alusi, the politician and former deputy of Al-Mada, says: “The understandings between Baghdad and Washington began about a year ago, and after the events of October 7 (the Gaza War), American calculations changed.”[/size]
[size=45]He added: “The ideas of American withdrawal from Iraq or reducing the American presence are now in the wind.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Alusi considered that the sharp positions within America due to factions close to Iran “may turn against Iraq, and new and open American decisions may be formulated against Iraq.”[/size]
[size=45]Washington had responded to Kataib Hezbollah’s suspension of attacks against the United States last week by saying that it would “wait for actions” before killing the leader Al-Saadi.[/size]
[size=45]Basil Hussein, a researcher in political affairs, told Al-Mada that “the Phalange’s retreat was due to fear for Iran’s interests.”[/size]
[size=45]He added: “The Iraqi government repeatedly tried to prevent the faction from taking military action, but it failed, and it only backed down at an Iranian request because Tehran began to fear being exposed to American strikes.”[/size]
[size=45]Iran denies its relationship with armed groups, whether in Iraq, Syria, or even in the Red Sea events, and the factions do the same in return.[/size]
[size=45]Atmosphere of negotiations[/size]
[size=45]Commenting on the return of the Iraqi-American dialogues, Ihsan Al-Shammari, professor of public policy at the University of Baghdad, said, “Baghdad will not place new conditions on Washington (following the killing of Al-Saadi) because it is unable.”[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, Al-Shammari believes that the United States “will tighten its conditions after recent developments,” and views the government as “unable to control the actions of the factions that interfere in political decisions.”[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the statement of the group called “The Resistance,” Al-Shammari, who is head of the Center for Political Thinking, says, “The statement will cast a shadow over the negotiations, and if there are again deadly attacks against American forces, in my opinion, America will not hesitate to suspend the negotiations again.”[/size]
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