Middle East "tense as a bowstring", Iraqi Prime Minister asks US to withdraw troops

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed al-Sudani on January 18 repeated his call for an end to the presence of US troops in his country, which have been part of an international coalition deployed to help Baghdad fight the Islamic State (IS) militant group since 2014.

Amid the tense situation in the Middle East with many new "hot spots", Mr. Al-Sudani - who leads the government based on the support of parties linked to Iran - has repeatedly said in recent weeks that he wants to see foreign troops leave Iraq.

“The end of the coalition’s mandate is essential for Iraq’s security and stability,” Al-Sudani said during a televised event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “It is also essential for maintaining constructive bilateral relations between Iraq and the countries of the coalition.”

World - Middle East — US soldiers board a CH-47 Chinook helicopter after a live-fire exercise at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, July 7, 2023. Photo: Breaking Defense

Since the latest wave of conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas erupted on October 7 last year, Iraq has been one of the countries affected by the fallout from the crisis. This is largely due to its relationship with Iran, a major backer of Hamas and other militant groups in the region.

US forces in Iraq have come under attack from Iranian-backed militias and have responded in kind. At least 130 attacks, including 53 in Iraq and 77 in Syria, were recorded between October 17 of last year and January 11 of this year, according to the Pentagon.

Most drone or missile attacks targeting foreign troops have been claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-aligned armed groups that opposes US support for Israel in the Gaza war.

A US drone strike in early January killed a military commander and another member of Harakat al-Nujaba, an offshoot of Hashed al-Shaabi, a group of formerly largely pro-Iran paramilitary units now integrated into the Iraqi Armed Forces.

In a speech on January 18, Mr. Al-Sudani stressed the need to “immediately begin dialogue to reach an understanding and a timetable for the end of the mission of international advisors.” The United States has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and nearly 900 in Syria supporting the anti-IS coalition.

Since late 2021, the coalition in Iraq said it had halted all combat missions and was stationed at Iraqi military bases for purely advisory and training purposes. Prime Minister Ial-Sudani said the coalition was no longer needed.

“Today, according to the analysis of all experts in Iraq and among our friends, ISIS is not a threat to the Iraqi state,” Mr. Al-Sudani said, using another acronym for IS .

Minh Duc (According to AFP/Digital Journal, Politics EU)

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