Aletho News

Iraqi PM says plans underway for withdrawal of US-led coalition

The Cradle | January 5, 2024

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced on 5 January that the Iraq-US bilateral committee, established late last year, has started the process of scheduling the withdrawal of the US-led “international coalition” from the country.

“We are in the process of setting a date for the start of the dialogue through the bilateral committee that was formed to determine the arrangements for the [withdrawal of foreign troops,” Sudani said during a ceremony commemorating the fourth anniversary of the US assassination of the Deputy Chairman of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, and Iranian Quds Force Commander General Qassem Soleimani.

“We affirm our firm and principled commitment to ending the presence of the international coalition as the justifications for its existence have ended,” the Iraqi head of state stressed, referring to Washington’s allegations of keeping troops and heavy weapons in Iraq to help the country “fight ISIS.”

“[This] is a commitment that the government will not back down from, and we will not neglect anything that would complete national sovereignty over Iraq’s land, sky, and waters,” Sudani added.

The premier also lambasted the US for launching a drone strike on the Baghdad headquarters of the PMU, located meters away from the Interior Ministry complex, killing a top leader of the Nujaba Movement.

“Iraq has a strategic partnership agreement and diplomatic relations with the US, and in this way, the main principles of international relations and what was stipulated in the UN Charter regarding equality of sovereignty between countries and the prohibition of the use of force in international relations were violated,” Sudani said.

He then highlighted that the PMU – also known as the Hashd al-Shaabi – represents “an official presence affiliated with the state, subject to it, and an integral part of our armed forces.”

“We have repeatedly emphasized that in the event of a violation or transgression by any Iraqi party, or if Iraqi law is violated, the Iraqi government is the only party with the right to follow up on the merits of these violations … The government is the body authorized to impose the law, and everyone must work through it, and no one has the right to infringe on Iraq’s sovereignty,” the prime minister stressed.

The PMU was formed in 2014 in response to the ISIS invasion of northwest Iraq, including Mosul. Ali Sistani, the top Shia cleric in Iraq, called for the establishment of the PMU to protect Baghdad and defeat the US-proxy terror group in Mosul.

The PMU was established with support from Iran, most notably General Soleimani, and was later incorporated into the Iraqi government as part of its armed forces.

Following the 2020 assassination of Soleimani and Muhandis, the Iraqi parliament voted on a law to withdraw permission for the US to operate on Iraqi soil.

US troops first entered Iraq in 2003 to topple the government of Saddam Hussein under false pretenses. Washington initially withdrew its forces in 2011 when the White House failed to secure a new Status of Forces (SOFA) agreement with former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

However, US troops returned to the Ain al-Asad base under the pretext of training Iraqis to fight ISIS six months after the extremist group invaded and occupied Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, in June 2014.

On 18 December 2021, the Iraqi government announced that “no combat forces of the international coalition or NATO” remained inside the Ain al-Assad base. However, at least 2,500 US troops remain in the country – many at the Ain al-Asad base – in a “training and advisory role.”

Their continued presence is part of an agreement reached between Washington and Baghdad in July 2021 that was meant to see the complete withdrawal of US troops – similar to their exit from Afghanistan.

January 5, 2024 - Posted by aletho | Illegal Occupation, Wars for Israel | Iraq, Middle East, United States, Zionism