Washington: The United States and Iraq held the first round of talks on the future of the US military presence in Iraq, with Baghdad discussing expectations that could lead to a timeline for reducing the presence, Al Jazeera reported.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani and senior officials from both the Iraqi military and the US-led coalition met in the capital Baghdad on Saturday.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said in a statement that the joint commission had initiated “the initiation of the first round of bilateral dialogue between Iraq and the United States of America to end coalition forces in Iraq.” said.
“Military experts have announced the end of the Global Coalition Against Daesh (ISIL) military mission, 10 years after it began and after successfully accomplishing the mission in cooperation with Iraq’s security forces and military. “I will be supervising it,” he added.
Al Jazeera reports that about 2,500 U.S. troops are currently deployed in Iraq as part of a coalition formed in 2014 to help the Iraqi government defeat ISIL.
In response, the United States said it was seeking to set up a commission to negotiate terms for ending the mission, which were first discussed last year.
However, as Israel’s war in Gaza escalates, US forces in Iraq and Syria have come under frequent attacks by Iranian-allied groups, resulting in US retaliatory attacks and US “invasions” of Iraqi territory. There are complaints about
Since ISIL has lost control over Iraq, particularly in January 2020, when a US airstrike killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis outside Baghdad airport. In response, officials are calling for coalition forces to withdraw.
In addition, Iraqi officials have complained that the US attack violates Iraq’s sovereignty, Al Jazeera reported.
The U.S. government announced Thursday that it had reached an agreement with Baghdad to establish a “specialized working group of military and defense experts” as part of the joint commission.
The three working groups will examine “the level of threat posed by ISIS.” [ISIL]operational and environmental requirements, and strengthening the growing capabilities of the Iraqi security forces,” al-Sudani’s office said.
Sabrin Singh, deputy spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, acknowledged that U.S. military presence in Arab countries “will definitely be part of future discussions.”
The United States stressed that the decision to discuss withdrawal from Iraq was made before October 7, but ISIL and Iraq took credit for the decision and said, “The Americans only understand the language of force.” “We have proven that this is the case,” he said, pledging to continue the attack.
