Iraq Seeks to Remove US-Led Forces

Facts

• Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in remarks shared by his office on Friday that his government plans to end the presence of the American-led international coalition in the country and is currently working to set a date for the start of a bilateral committee to discuss the matter.¹
• This came as he strongly condemned the coalition for a deadly drone strike in Baghdad on the Iran-backed Harakat al-Nujaba — a militia unit within the Popular Mobilization Forces — that killed two, including its leader Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, known as Abu Taqwa, and wounded six on Thursday.²
• However, according to a political advisor close to al-Sudani, this announcement could be aimed at easing pressure within his coalition from the powerful bloc of Iran-backed Shia parties that have long sought to remove American forces from Iraq.³
• On Friday, Shia lawmakers announced plans to introduce a bill that would include the departure of foreign troops within three months, a move that the US-based Institute for the Study of War predicted would allow the so-called Islamic State (IS) to resurge in Syria within two years and then threaten Iraq.⁴
• There are currently at least 2.5K US troops in Iraq, most of them at the Ain al-Assad base, reportedly training and advising Iraqis to fight IS, which invaded northwest Iraq and occupied the country's second-largest city, Mosul, in 2014.⁵
• On Saturday, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for drone strikes against three military facilities where US-led forces have been stationed in Syria and Iraq, saying it was in retaliation for US support for Israel in its campaign in Gaza.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Rudaw, ³The National, ⁴Semafor, ⁵The Cradle and ⁶PressTV.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Iraqi News Agency. Prime Minister al-Sudani has properly sought to free Iraqi territory of any foreign military presence since his first day in office, even agreeing to work together with the US to find viable options to achieve that goal. In the wake of the unauthorized drone strike that martyrized Abu Taqwa, it has become more clear than ever that the once helpful coalition forces have turned into a threat to Iraq's sovereignty.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CBC. It would be unwise for the Iraqi government to push for the removal of the international coalition forces from the country exactly when the now shadowy and weakened IS has indicated through two deadly attacks in Iran that it is seeking to restore its power and relevance in the Middle East. Iraq shouldn't turn away support from the very coalition that subdued the terror group some years ago.

Predictions