US State Department: We did not discuss the withdrawal of our forces from Iraq anywhere

Posted on[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] by [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[size=52]US State Department: We did not discuss the withdrawal of our forces from Iraq anywhere[/size]

[size=45]The US State Department's deputy spokesman said that his country did not discuss the withdrawal of its forces from Iraq in their meetings with Iraqi officials.[/size]
[size=45]“We have had several meetings with the Iraqi government about the future of coalition forces, including the Iraqi prime minister coming to Washington,” said State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel.[/size]
[size=45]“We did not discuss the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq in any of these meetings, but talks to establish a bilateral security partnership are ongoing, as the Iraqi prime minister and the US secretary of state discussed in a telephone conversation,” Patel added.[/size]
[size=45]Patel pointed out that the talks are ongoing, and will be based on previous discussions and strategies, and will address security coordination and common interests.[/size]
[size=45]Voices have been raised in Iraq for years calling for the withdrawal of these forces following the October 7 attack launched by Hamas on Israel, and the subsequent devastating war waged by Israel in the Gaza Strip, which it says aims to eliminate the movement.[/size]
[size=45]After US-led international forces invaded Iraq in 2003 and overthrew then-President Saddam Hussein, those forces withdrew from the country in 2011.[/size]
[size=45]But in 2014, after ISIS took control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, and declared an “Islamic caliphate” in the areas it controlled in Iraq and Syria, the Iraqi government officially asked the United States and the United Nations to help it defeat the group and protect Iraq’s territory and people. This led to the return of US-led coalition forces to the country and the start of Operation Inherent Resolve, which aims to help Iraqi forces defeat the group’s forces and reclaim the territory it had controlled.[/size]
[size=45]On February 10, 2024, the Iraqi Council of Representatives held a session to call for the expulsion of US forces, but the legal quorum for the session was not completed due to the absence of a number of representatives.[/size]
[size=45]Following this field and diplomatic escalation, bilateral talks between Iraq and the United States were resumed regarding the withdrawal of international coalition forces from Iraq, which are now looking into setting a timetable for “a deliberate and gradual reduction leading to the end of the coalition forces’ mission,” according to a statement by Major General Yahya Rasool.[/size]
[size=45]On April 15, 2024, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visited the United States and met with US President Joe Biden at the White House. He stated that relations between Iraq and the United States “have reached an important turning point,” stressing the importance of moving from “a relationship of a security and military nature” to a full partnership “in accordance with the Strategic Framework Agreement.”[/size]
[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]