Is it time to get out of Iraq?

Baghdad | In light of the talk about the possibility of the late US administration, led by Donald Trump, taking unpredictable steps in the region, it seemed remarkable what Trump’s acting defense minister, Christopher Miller, reported, who was determined to accelerate the withdrawal of its soldiers from Afghanistan and the Middle East. Re-raising questions about whether the US occupation forces will withdraw from Iraq before the end of 2020? (See “Al-Akhbar”, No. 4009).

Iraqi government sources confirmed, when speaking with Al-Akhbar, that the government is in contact with the Trump administration, indicating that the latter is in the process of implementing its promises to withdraw its combat forces deployed in some joint military bases with Iraqi forces. . It is a withdrawal that is close to a process of repositioning and reducing the number of occupation forces (it is said that Washington will keep 3,000 soldiers in Iraq), and a determination of its deployment points (it is also said that these forces will be deployed exclusively in the “Ain Al-Asad Air Base” and some other bases in the Kurdistan region) Consequently, it can be said that the fighting force is about to withdraw, while the US administration will keep advisers and technicians in “Mesopotamia “According to understandings with the Iraqi government, which does not raise the sensitivity of Tehran’s allies.

Mediation between the Americans and the resistance factions resulted in the “cooling” of the Iraqi front

So far, there is no clear roadmap for this withdrawal. However, the information from “Al-Akhbar” indicates that the government of Mustafa Al-Kazemi was informed of the nature of the aforementioned trend, provided that “sufficient information” on it and the practical mechanisms are available in the coming days. to ensure its translation. While some go, explaining the decision of the United States, to Trump’s attempt to “ displace ” the next administration headed by Joe Biden, others believe that the administration of the outgoing president wanted to withdraw from 2017 and launched serious negotiations with the government. of Haider al-Abadi for this, but did not reply. According to them, Tehran gave “a gratuitous victory” and then backed away from the idea. However, since 2019, the Trump team has reintroduced the withdrawal, but has ensured that it comes at a price.
Today, the administration of the losing president in the US presidential election is paying the price for the murder of the martyrs Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, Tehran allies in Baghdad say, as resistance factions have intensified, in recent months, its operations against the occupation, which led the latter to demand mediation, which finally led to the cooling of the front (since last September, operations against US interests, which had reached the level of targeting daily, they stopped, varying between primitive and directed pressure, and the specificity of their purpose to convey specific messages). In conclusion, Washington wanted a face-saving withdrawal, that is, “stop your operations, we accelerate the withdrawal processes”, and this has been answered in practice.
On the other hand, the government, which adheres to its diplomatic efforts, believes it can reach an understanding with the Americans to ensure the rapid implementation of the withdrawal, especially since the parliamentary decision to withdraw foreign forces from the country has become binding and pressure on the government, as well as Washington itself announced, last July. In the communiqué issued by the first session of the “strategic dialogue” between the two countries, it promises to implement it.

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