Al-Kazemi before heading to Washington: Iraq does not need American combat forces

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi pre-empted his visit to Washington, DC, by saying that his country no longer needs American combat forces to fight the Islamic State, adding that the official time frame for the redeployment of these forces "will depend on the outcome of talks with American officials."

In an interview with the Associated Press, Al-Kazemi said, "There is no need for any foreign combat forces on Iraqi soil," adding that the Iraqi security forces and army "are able to defend the country without the US-led coalition forces."

Timetable

Al-Kazemi did not announce a deadline for the departure of US forces, only saying that any timetable for withdrawal would depend on the needs of the Iraqi forces, "which have shown that they are able in the past year to carry out independent missions" against the Islamic State.

He said, "The war against ISIS (ISIS) and the readiness of our forces require a special timetable, and this depends on the negotiations that we will conduct in Washington. Iraq will continue to require American training and gathering military intelligence, and what we want from the American presence in Iraq is to support our forces in training and developing their efficiency." capabilities and security cooperation.

Al-Kazemi's statements come before he heads to Washington, where he will meet US President Joe Biden, and his agenda there is the future of the US-led coalition forces in Iraq.

As for Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein, who preceded Al-Kazemi to the American capital, he stressed in his speech during the launch of the fourth round of the American-Iraqi strategic dialogue, the need for his country's forces for American training, arming and equipping programs.

Fouad Hussein said that ISIS still poses a threat to the Iraqi, regional and international community, and stressed the need for action and the continuation of information exchange between the international coalition led by the United States and the Iraqi government to confront the organization.

Iraqi organizations threaten

On the contrary, Iraqi organizations calling themselves the "Coordinating Body for the Iraqi Resistance Factions" said that they would not allow the presence of any US soldier in Iraq under any pretext.

These organizations added, in a statement after the statements of the Iraqi Foreign Minister in Washington, that the withdrawal of what they called "the occupying forces" to be real "must be comprehensive from all of Iraq, specifically from the Ain Al-Assad and Al-Harir air bases."

The statement also indicated that the presence of foreign forces includes the international coalition forces against ISIS and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The statement stressed that if the United States does not commit to withdrawing its forces, these organizations will treat any foreign military presence in Iraq as an occupation, and will continue to fight it with all its might.

The statement considered that "the American trainers, along with the international coalition forces, have proven a catastrophic failure in Iraq by experience for 10 years, the result of which was the collapse of all security and military institutions."

The coordinating body includes armed Shiite factions supported by Iran, including the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada' and Harakat al-Nujaba, which have previously claimed attacks on US military targets in Iraq.

prospect statement

Prior to the launch of the fourth round of the US-Iraq strategic dialogue on Friday, The Wall Street Journal quoted prominent US and Iraqi officials as saying that they intend to issue a statement on the withdrawal of US combat forces from Iraq by the end of this year.

The newspaper added that the statement will confirm that the US military presence will remain necessary after the withdrawal, to assist the Iraqi forces in their battle against ISIS.

For its part, Politico newspaper quoted a US official and informed sources as saying that US and Iraqi officials will announce the transformation of the US forces' mission in Iraq into a consultancy by the end of the year.

The newspaper, quoting these sources, said that the plan will include the survival of a certain number of US forces indefinitely to provide logistical and advisory support, as well as air and intelligence power in the fight against ISIS.

An informed source was quoted as saying that Washington and Baghdad intend to announce the plan on Monday, coinciding with Al-Kazemi’s visit to Washington.

For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said during his meeting with his Iraqi counterpart at the State Department that the partnership between Washington and Baghdad is much broader and deeper than just their joint war against ISIS.

"We are very proud of the work that we have done together to defeat ISIS, and to make sure that its defeat continues, but I believe that what is happening today confirms that the partnership between the United States and Iraq is much broader and deeper than the joint fight against ISIS," he said.