US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says talks will happen as a part of a army fee that was agreed upon in August 2023.
The United States and Iraq have agreed to start out talks on the way forward for the US-led army coalition in Iraq with the purpose of setting a timetable for a phased withdrawal of troops and the coalition’s finish, each governments have introduced.
The US has had a steady presence in Iraq since its 2003 invasion.
US fight forces left in 2011, however 1000’s of troops returned in 2014 to assist the Iraqi authorities defeat ISIL (ISIS).
In the years since, the presence of US forces, who’ve remained there to conduct counter-ISIL missions and coaching, has been a lightning rod for an more and more influential faction of Iran-aligned militias and politicians in Iraq.
Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an announcement on Thursday mentioned Baghdad goals to “formulate a specific and clear timetable that specifies the duration of the presence of international coalition advisors in Iraq” and to “initiate the gradual and deliberate reduction of its advisors on Iraqi soil”, finally resulting in the top of the coalition mission.
It added that Iraq is dedicated to making sure the “safety of the international coalition’s advisors during the negotiation period in all parts of the country” and to “maintaining stability and preventing escalation”.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin mentioned in an announcement that the discussions will happen as half of a better army fee that was agreed upon in August 2023 – earlier than the outbreak of Israel’s warfare on Gaza on October 7 rocked the area – and can talk about the “transition to an enduring bilateral security partnership between Iraq and the United States”.
Iraq’s authorities says ISIL is defeated and the coalition’s job is over, however it’s eager to discover establishing bilateral relations with coalition members, together with army cooperation in coaching and tools.
Iraq additionally says the coalition’s presence has turn into a magnet for instability amid near-daily assaults by Iran-backed armed teams on bases housing the forces and US retaliatory strikes, escalating for the reason that Israeli warfare in Gaza began.
US and Iraqi officers say the method is anticipated to take many months if not longer, with the result unclear and no withdrawal of US forces imminent.
Washington fears {that a} quick withdrawal might create a safety vacuum that might be crammed by archrival Iran or ISIL, which maintains sleeper cells in desert areas and has continued low-level assaults regardless of holding no territory.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/25/us-and-iraq-agree-to-start-talks-to-end-presence-of-us-led-coalition?traffic_source=rss
