Iraq postpones ending the international coalition mission, and the factions remain silent

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[size=52]Iraq postpones ending the international coalition mission, and the factions remain silent[/size]

[size=45]After a round of talks and promises, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced the postponement of the announcement of the end of the military mission of the US-led international coalition in Iraq due to “recent developments,” despite repeated demands by political parties and armed Iraqi factions allied with Iran to end the presence of the international coalition and the withdrawal of US forces.
Baghdad and Washington agreed in the second round of dialogue held in Washington at the end of last July to commit to developing Iraq’s security and defense capabilities and deepening bilateral security cooperation in all fields, while the Baghdad government affirmed its absolute commitment to protecting individuals, advisors, convoys and diplomatic facilities of the United States and the countries of the international coalition in Iraq.
A statement by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry stated that “the official spokesman for the US State Department gave an inaccurate answer in response to a journalist’s question,” stressing that “there are no US forces in Iraq except for the military advisors under the umbrella of the international coalition, and that these are included in the outcomes of the work of the Supreme Military Committee, and both parties are committed to the mechanisms followed and their outcomes.” The statement added that “the work of the Supreme Military Committee has focused over the past months on assessing the threat of ISIS, with the aim of reaching a date to end the military mission of Operation Inherent Resolve.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “the presence of international coalition advisers of all nationalities on Iraqi soil will be terminated, according to discussions that included the hierarchy of advisers’ withdrawal from the sites, and all that remains is to agree on the details and date of the announcement and some other logistical aspects,” noting that “the announcement of the end of the military mission of the international coalition in Iraq has been postponed due to recent developments.”
It explained that “the bilateral relationship with the United States included all areas, including the security relationship, and that this relationship existed before the presence of coalition forces and will continue after it,” explaining that “the Iraqi delegation had previously discussed the future of the security relationship in the areas of training, armament, equipment and security cooperation, in light of what is permitted by the Iraqi constitution and the framework of the strategic agreement between Iraq and the United States.”
These developments in the situation come as Iraq continues to anticipate an expected American response to the bombing of the Ain al-Assad base, and the injury of a number of American soldiers last week, in an attack claimed by an armed faction calling itself “the revolutionaries.” The attack came hours after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani made a phone call with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in which the two parties stressed the need for calm and preventing the expansion of the circle of war.
So far, the Iraqi factions have not announced any official position on the government’s announcement to postpone the announcement of the end of the international coalition’s mission, but statements were issued by parties in the “Coordination Framework” coalition, which includes political forces representing a number of armed factions.
Salam Hussein, a member of the Fatah coalition, said that “the American military presence in Iraq will continue for many years,” indicating in a press statement on Thursday evening that “Iraq is facing American procrastination and stalling from the Iraqi government regarding the issue of evacuating these forces, and that the American statements indicate that there is a problem that Iraq is experiencing regarding the exit of these forces.”
He called on the Iraqi political forces to “reject this presence in its military or advisory form, as this presence constitutes an influential factor in security and stability in the country.”
The head of the Iraqi Political Thinking Center, Ihsan Al-Shammari, commented on the government’s position, confirming in a tweet on “X”: “The first Iraqi admission that there will be no withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.”
For his part, Saud Al-Saadi, a representative of the Rights Bloc, said that “his bloc does not trust the government’s decisions that talk about removing American forces from Iraq, despite the Iraqi parliament’s decision in 2020 to remove foreign forces.”
He stressed that “the Iraqi parliament is determined to pass legislation to remove American forces from Iraq, which will be binding on the government and the Americans together, and a draft of the law has been prepared that will be discussed extensively during the upcoming sessions.”
The 2024 Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue is based on discussions that took place during the Iraqi Prime Minister’s visit to Washington last April, and the inaugural Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue last summer. During the first Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue, the two sides decided to establish a high-level bilateral military committee to analyze three factors (the threat from ISIS, operational requirements, and the levels of capabilities of the Iraqi security forces) to determine the future of the international military coalition in Iraq. The Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue has continued on the basis of the work of the Higher Military Committee over the past six months, and a detailed joint statement on the future of the Global Coalition’s missions and presence in Iraq is scheduled to be issued shortly after the conclusion of the Higher Military Committee’s work.[/size]
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