Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the negotiations would take place as part of a military commission agreed to in August 2023.
The United States and Iraq have agreed to begin talks on the future of the U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq, with the aim of setting a timeline for a phased withdrawal and termination of the coalition, the two governments announced.
The United States has had a continuous presence in Iraq since the 2003 invasion.
U.S. combat troops withdrew in 2011, but thousands of troops returned in 2014 to help the Iraqi government defeat ISIL (ISIS).
In the years since then, the presence of U.S. troops, who have remained on the ground conducting counter-ISIL missions and training, has been a challenge to a faction of Iranian-aligned militias and politicians who have gained increasing influence in Iraq. It has become a lightning rod.
Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Thursday that Baghdad will “develop a concrete and clear timetable specifying the duration of the United Nations advisors’ presence in Iraq” and “begin a gradual and deliberate reduction of the number of advisors in Iraq.” He said he is aiming for that. ”, which ultimately led to the end of the Coalition mission.
It added that Iraq would ensure “the security of United Nations advisers throughout the country during the negotiation period” and strive to “maintain stability and prevent escalation.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the talks will take place as part of a senior military commission agreed to in August 2023, before Israel’s outbreak of war in Gaza on October 7 rocked the region. “Transition to a permanent bilateral security partnership between Iraq and the United States.”
Although the Iraqi government claims ISIL has been defeated and the coalition’s job is done, it is keen to explore establishing bilateral relations with coalition member states, including military cooperation in training and equipment. be.
Iraq has also become a magnet for instability, with the coalition’s presence amid near-daily attacks on military bases by Iran-backed militants and retaliatory attacks by the United States, which have escalated since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza. He also said that
U.S. and Iraqi officials say the process is expected to take months, if not longer, with uncertain outcomes and that a U.S. troop withdrawal is not imminent.
The U.S. government is worried that its rapid withdrawal has created a security vacuum and that arch-rivals Iran and ISIL, which maintain sleeper cells in the desert and continue low-level attacks despite having no territory, have left the U.S. There are concerns that it may be buried.
