The Pentagon reveals the truth about the negotiations with Iraq: they are not about withdrawing from its lands, 27 JAN

The Pentagon reveals the truth about the negotiations with Iraq: they are not about withdrawing from its lands, 27 JAN

Shafaq News / The American newspaper “The Washington Post” confirmed that talks between Baghdad and Washington on the issue of the American military presence were ongoing even before the attack launched by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, which led to the ignition of unrest in the region and exacerbated tension between the forces. However, it is not a negotiation to withdrawfrom Iraq.

In a report translated by Shafaq News Agency, the American newspaper quoted the Pentagon spokeswoman, Sabrina Singh, denying that the Iraqi-American Supreme Military Committee talks, which were announced by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of Defense, were related to the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.

According to Singh, the issue “is about the future of Iraq and ensuring that it is prepared to succeed in defending its own security and sovereignty, and how the United States can support Iraq to do that.”

A senior American official, who requested to remain anonymous, told the newspaper, “We have been discussing this for months. The timing is not related to the recent attacks.”

While the newspaper pointed out that Pentagon officials refuse to provide additional details about the form of the new arrangements that will take place in Iraq, it quoted a senior defense official as saying that the recent wave of militia attacks against American forces led to the delay of the committee’s meetings in the fall, but they will begin now, adding that “There is no way to predict exactly where this will lead, or on what timeline it will lead us.”

The newspaper pointed out that this lack of clarity left the door open to the possibility of the United States withdrawing its forces from some locations in Iraq, and perhaps from Syria, adding that American forces in Syria depend on logistical support from American soldiers stationed in Iraq.

The report quoted a senior military official as saying that about 70 Americans had been injured in militia attacks since October 2023, including one soldier who was seriously injured, noting that the continued American military presence played a role in preventing nearby ISIS cells from carrying out larger attacks.

shafaq.com