Two weeks of truce between the Americans and the factions... and Washington is asking for more guara

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[size=52]Two weeks of truce between the Americans and the factions... and Washington is asking for more guarantees[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]There has been a cautious calm between the factions and Washington since the killing of a leader in the Hezbollah Brigades more than 10 days ago, in an American raid east of Baghdad, while the United States is still demanding that Iraq take more measures to prevent attacks. Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani heard those words from Kamala Harris, the US Vice President in A meeting between the two in Germany against the backdrop of a security conference there, while the Iraqi statement did not mention that detail.[/size]
[size=45]It is believed that the American administration is now separating the prime minister from the armed groups that are putting pressure on the political decision, according to a former deputy and head of a center for studies.[/size]
[size=45]The government statement said, “Prime Minister Mohamed Shiaa Al-Sudani met with US Vice President Kamala Harris, on the sidelines of his participation in the 2024 Munich Security Conference.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "The meeting witnessed discussion of bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States, and an emphasis on the continuation of the dialogue through the Joint Supreme Committee to end the tasks of the international coalition to combat ISIS in Iraq, after the growing capabilities of the Iraqi armed forces and the decline of the threat of the remnants of terrorism."[/size]
[size=45]More than a week ago, Baghdad was able to bring Washington back to the dialogue table after suspending negotiations due to the participation of Iraqi factions in attacking an American base in Jordan, causing the death of 3 American soldiers.[/size]
[size=45]As for the American version, according to what was published in the White House statement and confirmed by the Ambassador in Baghdad, Elena Romanowski, that Harris urged Al-Sudani to “prevent attacks against American personnel.”[/size]
[size=45]She stressed, according to the statement, that “the safety of American personnel is a top priority for the United States, and that it will take all necessary measures for self-defense when necessary.”[/size]
[size=45]The Vice President renewed “President Biden’s invitation to the Sudanese Prime Minister to visit the White House,” details of which were mentioned in the two statements.[/size]
[size=45]The US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) announced last week that there have been no attacks against US forces in Iraq and Syria since February 4.[/size]
[size=45]A few days before that date, the Hezbollah Brigades had announced the suspension of strikes, before Washington killed Abu Baqir al-Saadi, a leader in the Brigades, with a missile inside his car east of Baghdad.[/size]
[size=45]So far, there are conflicting statements between the Iraqi army and the Pentagon about the nature of the ongoing discussions between the two parties.[/size]
[size=45]A few days ago, US Department of Defense spokesman Pat Ryder said that US forces are in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government, and that he is not aware of any specific official request for US forces to leave.[/size]
[size=45]Yahya Rasoul, the military spokesman for the Iraqi government, said that Iraq and the United States held talks in order to formulate a timetable for “a studied and gradual reduction, leading to the end of the mission of the international coalition forces.”[/size]
[size=45]Mathal Al-Alusi, a former MP, said in an interview with Al-Mada that what is happening between the Iraqi and American parties “is not to formulate an agreement between two countries, but rather understandings that can change at every moment.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Alusi reveals that parties in the coordination framework “are investing at least a million dollars in American institutions to improve the relationship between Baghdad and Washington.”[/size]
[size=45]The former MP points out that “America here in these negotiations is clearly pushing the Iraqi government, and the Sudanese character is pushing him to some degree of independence from the dominance of the factions.”[/size]
[size=45]The Prime Minister received the highest level of popular support in Iraq, according to an opinion poll conducted by the American Gallup organization and published while Al-Sudani was in Germany.[/size]
[size=45]According to the poll, Al-Sudani “received a support rating of about 69% among Iraqis in 2023, which is the highest level recorded by Gallup for any Iraqi leader since it began tracking this measure in 2012.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sudani had met with several European Union officials, and also discussed with members of the US Congress, ending the international coalition’s mission in Iraq, according to an official statement.[/size]
[size=45]The Prime Minister's media office stated yesterday that the latter received four members of the US Congress: Mike Turner, McKeirl, Joe Wilson, and Gerry Connolly, on the sidelines of his participation in the 2024 Munich Security Conference.[/size]
[size=45]The statement added, “During the meeting, bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States were discussed, and ways to enhance constructive cooperation.” The meeting also touched on the ongoing dialogue regarding “ending the mission of the international coalition in Iraq.”[/size]
[size=45]In addition, Ghazi Faisal, director of the Iraqi Center for Strategic Studies, told Al-Mada that the Prime Minister always focuses in meetings with American and European officials on the phrase “the transition to bilateral relations in several fields, which here contradicts the vision of the factions.”[/size]
[size=45]Faisal finds that “Iranian pressure in Iraq aims to remove the American forces, while the factional pressure is to expel the American ambassador, close the embassy, ​​sever diplomatic relations, and end American interests in Iraq.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, “The position of the factions is very radical and does not express the rational diplomatic goals of the government and the prime minister, and Washington is well aware of these pressures.”[/size]
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