Factions and framework without comment.. Erdogan returned and his forces remained in Iraq!

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[size=52]Factions and framework without comment.. Erdogan returned and his forces remained in Iraq![/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]Ankara maintains forces equivalent to more than three times the American forces in Iraq and without the approval of the Baghdad government. Despite this, the “factions” that seem destined to end the “truce” with the United States have not commented on the Turkish president’s recent visit or the status of his forces.[/size]
[size=45]Not only that, but the coordination framework, which is supposed to be the political umbrella for most of the factions, was also not commented on, nor was there any statement issued by any other political party or even a question about: What will be the fate of the Turkish forces after the new agreement with Ankara?[/size]
[size=45]Baghdad and Ankara signed more than 20 agreements and memorandums of understanding during the one-day visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iraq, according to what the office of Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani said, before the former left to return to his country after passing through the Kurdistan region.[/size]
[size=45]The agreements and understandings signed between the two countries varied in the fields of energy, water, trade, education, health, security, and archiving, but no one knew the fate of the Turkish forces that entered in an unknown way 9 years ago![/size]
[size=45]Some information says that there is silence about the status of the Turkish forces in Iraq because they (those forces) are among the “items of the agreements... as they will protect the development road project and ensure the continuation of the rest of the projects.”[/size]
[size=45]The information that reached Al-Mada indicates that Erdogan was clear even before he came to Baghdad that “neither development nor cooperation with Baghdad can succeed as long as the opposition Kurdish armed groups are present in northern Iraq,” referring to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). ).[/size]
[size=45]A statement issued by Al-Sudani, on Monday, said that he witnessed with the Turkish President the signing ceremony of a four-way memorandum of understanding between Iraq, Turkey, Qatar and the UAE to cooperate in the “development road project.”[/size]
[size=45]Iraq launched a $17 billion project last year to connect a major port for goods on its southern coast to the Turkish border via railways and land roads.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq and Turkey also signed a 10-year agreement on water resources management, and Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani announced, in a joint press conference with Erdogan, that the two countries had signed a strategic framework agreement that oversees cooperation in the fields of security, energy, and economics between the two countries.[/size]
[size=45]The information confirms that “those agreements would not have occurred had Baghdad not recently changed its position on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has intertwined relations with some factions and the PMF. It is also believed that this shift was in agreement with Iran, which supports the Workers’ Party and controls the city of Sinjar, north of Mosul.”[/size]
[size=45]Last month, the government described the Labor Party as a “terrorist organization” for the first time since the party began its activity in Iraq in the early 1980s.[/size]
[size=45]Erdogan said in the joint conference with Al-Sudani that he discussed with the latter the joint steps that the two countries could take against PKK fighters, and he welcomed Iraq’s classification of the group as banned.[/size]
[size=45]During the conference, Erdogan expressed his strong belief that the presence of the Kurdistan Workers' Party in Iraqi territory will end as soon as possible.[/size]
[size=45]why the silence?[/size]
[size=45]According to Turkish indications, it is likely that Ankara is close to carrying out a “decisive” attack this summer against PKK fighters in Iraq, and establishing a buffer zone of up to 40 km inside Iraqi territory.[/size]
[size=45]Turkey maintains about 7,000 soldiers and officers who penetrate up to 100 km deep into Iraqi territory and have 11 military bases and 19 camps in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]This number exceeds the number of American forces, which are a group of advisors and trainers, by several times, and are present at the request of the Iraqi government.[/size]
[size=45]It was expected that Erdogan's visit to Baghdad would spark opposition from the factions or group calling themselves the "Iraqi Resistance" because of the presence of those combat forces that exist without the approval of the Iraqi government.[/size]
[size=45]In 2015, Haider al-Abadi, the former Prime Minister, asked the United States to intervene to force Turkey to remove its forces from Iraq, but Erdogan then mocked al-Abadi’s request, and said, addressing the former Prime Minister: “We will do whatever we want, and you should know that.”[/size]
[size=45]What is more, the factions remained silent, and in 2017, in an interview with Al Jazeera, Erdogan described the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq as a “terrorist organization and we should look at who is behind it.”[/size]
[size=45]Under the pretext of pursuing the Workers' Party, Turkey has killed and wounded dozens of Iraqis in the past nine years, including about 40 tourists in Dohuk two years ago.[/size]
[size=45]The coordinating framework, like the factions that returned to attack US bases in Iraq and Syria, threatening to end a truce that lasted more than two months, remained silent about the presence of Turkish forces, as did the rest of the political forces, some of which met directly with Erdogan, such as the Sunni parties.[/size]
[size=45]Muhammad Nanaa, a researcher in Iraqi political affairs, told Al-Mada: “It is striking that Erdogan was not talked about, referred to, or embarrassed while he was in Baghdad about the presence of Turkish forces violating Iraqi sovereignty, and the continued targeting of bombings and assassinations inside our lands.”[/size]
[size=45]Nanaa considered that this indicates a contradiction in the discourse and movement of the forces of power, and it also directly indicates that the forces of power do not consider sensitive strategic files, such as the issue of the presence of Turkish forces, in their calculations.[/size]
[size=45]He added: “These forces exist as a result of the Turkish Parliament’s decision and conflict with Iraq’s sovereignty, but there appears to be an understanding between the Baghdad government and Ankara, so the forces of authority have no intention of discussing this matter.”[/size]
[size=45]Nanaa indicated that the forces of power are focusing “on adjusting the situation in a way that suits their interests. This is an opportunity for the parties to strengthen their positions and establish a deep state for each Faisal and party.”[/size]
[size=45]Therefore, the researcher says that these forces focus on what they call “political stability.” This is a saying that is always repeated, and it is an imaginary stability created by the processes of procrastinating real solutions and postponing important files to later stages.[/size]
[size=45]He continued, "These parties are not committed to sovereignty, but rather to the illusion and promotion of political stability, which is made of silence about sensitive issues that need solutions. If Erdogan's visit had taken place in another government and country, there would have been a huge uproar and objection because of the presence of those forces."[/size]
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