Iraqi Prime Minister: Iraq No Longer Needs US Army Combat Units

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kazimi said that his country no longer needs combat units of the US army to fight ISIS (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation), writes the American publication Politico.


- he said in an interview with The Associated Press before traveling to Washington, where he will meet with US President Joe Biden on July 26 and hold the fourth round of strategic negotiations.



The Iraqi prime minister clarified that the timing of the withdrawal of foreign troops will depend on the outcome of the negotiations and the needs of the Iraqi forces opposing ISIS. He added that Iraq remains interested in training its military personnel and maintaining weapons by American specialists, as well as information from US intelligence.


- he explained.

Al-Kazimi believes that now the security forces and the Iraqi army are able to independently defend the country without the coalition forces under the leadership of the United States. However, the war with ISIS requires a "special timetable" for the withdrawal of foreign forces, which must be agreed upon.

In April, Washington and Baghdad agreed that the US's transition to a training and advisory mission would mean the end of the American combat role, but the parties did not agree on a timetable for completing this transition. It is expected that at the upcoming meeting in the White House, the leaders of the two countries will determine the timing of the above transition and, possibly, the process will end before the end of this year.

In 2011, US President Barack Obama completely withdrew US troops from Iraq. In 2014, he ordered to send troops back, as ISIS jihadists took over large parts of Iraq, defeating local security forces and the army. Under US President Donald Trump, the number of American troops in Iraq dropped from 3 to 2,5. It was then, in November 2020, that the coalition's combat mission actually ended. U.S. and coalition officials have argued that U.S. forces are no longer escorting Iraqi forces on ground operations and that coalition assistance is limited to intelligence gathering and surveillance and the deployment of forward military forces. of technologies.

For Al-Kazimi, the trip to Washington is very important. The confidence of the Iraqi public has been undermined in the government he leads. Ongoing attacks point to the state's limited ability to prevent them, and a series of devastating hospital fires have killed dozens of Iraqis amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, less than three months remain until early federal elections, in accordance with the promise made by Al-Kazimi when he took office (May 2020).

Iraq declared victory over ISIS at the end of 2017 after a devastating and bloody war. The continued presence of US troops has become a problem for the political class in Iraq after a US drone killed the powerful Iranian General Qasim Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis outside Baghdad in January 2020.

4 years after defeat, ISIS can still attack the capital and roam the rugged northern region of the country. In addition, al-Kazimi faced significant pressure from Shiite political parties demanding to announce a date for the withdrawal of US troops. Ongoing missile attacks and ongoing drone attacks on US targets have also put heavy pressure on the Iraqi government (widely believed to be carried out by Iraqis with ties to Iran).

The announcement of the US withdrawal could calm the Shiite parties, but it will have little effect on the situation on the ground. Shiite parties have no objection to the presence of foreign instructors or advisers in Iraq. At the same time, the main issue on Washington's agenda is the future of the US-led coalition forces in Iraq, the media summed up.