EXCERPTS FROM MARKZ
Saturday, September 14, 2024
EXCERPTS FROM MARKZ, 14 SEPT
IRAQ BOOTS ON THE GROUND REPORT BY FIREFLY, 14 SEPT
Frank26
[Iraq boots-on-the-ground report]
FIREFLY: Mr Sammy [Bank manager friend] says soon Iraq will be complete with banking reforms but not to look for new rate until by end of year...
FRANK: I think right along with you because Sudani made that promise and...that was a holy solemn oath. You can't break that...Twice he's said this year and now he says the reform education is almost done.
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ABOUT THE 2024 COMMERCIAL ATM BANK WITHDRAWALS, 13 SEPT
Frank26
[Iraq boots-on-the-ground report]
FIREFLY: We are seeing a commercial on TV. It's 5 or 6 minutes long showing our new cards we are going to be receiving in the mail very shortly they tell us. They're showing the citizens going to banks and ATMs getting money out. They are showing us how to do this...This informational stage we are in is like Mr. Sammy [Bank friend] said, it will last for the rest of the year.
FRANK: The commercials are now starting because Alaq has returned...
https://dinarevaluation.blogspot.com/2024/09/about-2024-commercial-atm-bank.html
DINAR REVALUATION REPORT: US Military Presence in Iraq Post-Withdrawal: Details as of September 2024, 14 SEPT
US Military Presence in Iraq Post-Withdrawal: Details as of September 2024
As of September 2024, the United States and Iraq have reached a significant milestone in their negotiations regarding the presence of US forces in Iraq post-withdrawal. The preliminary agreement includes the maintenance of a small military force in the Kurdistan Region to provide security guarantees for the Kurds against Iranian-backed militias. This decision underscores the strategic importance of the region and the need for continued security presence amidst regional tensions.
The Residual Force in Kurdistan
The US is expected to maintain a small military presence in the semi-autonomous Region of Kurdistan. This decision comes as part of a broader agreement that includes the withdrawal of most US troops from Iraq over the next two years, with the residual force focused on providing security in the Kurdistan region. The move is seen as a security guarantee for the Kurds, who have faced threats from Iranian-backed militias.
The Global Coalition's Role
Currently, the US has around 2,500 troops in Iraq and approximately 900 in neighboring Syria, serving as part of the Global Coalition formed in 2014 to combat ISIS. This coalition includes forces from countries such as France and the United Kingdom. The agreement between the US and Iraq aims to gradually reduce this presence, with the departure of hundreds of Coalition troops by September 2025 and the remainder leaving by the end of the following year.
The Withdrawal Agreement
The agreement for the withdrawal of Coalition forces from Iraq is largely finalized, pending final approval from both countries and an official announcement. The announcement was initially expected weeks ago but was delayed due to regional tensions linked to the war in Gaza and ongoing negotiations over remaining details.
Iraq's Perspective
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani's advisor, Hussein Alawi, has indicated that a joint announcement on the planned withdrawal will be made soon. Alawi noted that Baghdad wants to restore relations with the US to their pre-2014 status, emphasizing that the need for the Global Coalition ended with the defeat of ISIS and that Iraqi forces are now fully capable of handling security matters efficiently.
The US and Iraq's Future Relations
The agreement marks a significant shift in US-Iraq relations, reflecting Iraq's desire to assert more control over its security and sovereignty while maintaining a strategic partnership with the US. The maintenance of a small force in the Kurdistan region is a compromise that acknowledges the ongoing security challenges in the area.
Washington Post reveals details of US military presence in Iraq ‘post-withdrawal’, 14 SEPT
Washington Post reveals details of US military presence in Iraq ‘post-withdrawal’, 14 SEPT
The Washington Post reported that the initial agreement between Washington and Baghdad on the presence of American forces will provide for the abandonment of a small force in the Kurdistan Region whose task is to provide security guarantee for the Kurds against Iranian-backed militias.
The newspaper quoted an Iraqi military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity while talking about the plans that have not yet been announced, as saying that the United States is expected to remain a small military force in the semi-autonomous region.
The United States has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and about 900 in neighboring Syria, as part of the coalition it established in 2014 to fight Islamic State. The coalition also includes troops from other countries, especially France and the United Kingdom.
Reuters revealed last week, citing several informed sources, that Washington and Baghdad reached an understanding on a plan for the withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq.
The sources explained that the plan includes the exit of hundreds of coalition forces by September 2025 and the rest by the end of the following year.
Reuters reported that the plan has been largely agreed and is waiting for final approval from the two countries and a date for its announcement.
The official announcement was initially scheduled to be issued weeks ago, the sources said, but it was postponed due to the regional escalation linked to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and to settle some of the remaining details.
The Washington Post quoted Hussein Allawi, an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani, as saying that there will soon be a joint announcement on the planned withdrawal.
Allawi added that Baghdad “wants the relationship with the United States to return to what it was before 2014,” noting that “the need for an international coalition ended with the defeat of ISIS, and now the Iraqi forces are fully capable of dealing with the security file efficiently.”
The White House and the US Department of Defense did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment, as did Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder, at a press conference on Thursday, refused to confirm the withdrawal plan.
If the withdrawal is complete, it will be the second time the United States has withdrawn most of its forces from Iraq since it overthrew the regime of former President Saddam Hussein in 2003.
The newspaper says that “as with the first American exit in 2011, the American withdrawal is likely to leave behind an Iraq burdened with major security weaknesses, sectarian divisions and corruption, which are problems that helped in the emergence of ISIS in its time.”
Dana Stroll, a former senior Pentagon official who is currently a research director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the return of U.S. forces a decade ago became necessary when Iraqi security forces largely collapsed amid ISIS attacks.
“I doubt that any U.S. president will send troops back if Iraqi leaders don’t take steps to prioritize the counterterrorism mission,” Strol adds.
This must “include preventing the country from becoming a playground for Iran, addressing rampant corruption, providing official security forces with resources and empowerment and ensuring that the government responds to the needs of all Iraqis.”
According to sources familiar with the secret talks, some U.S. lawmakers were briefed on withdrawal plans.
Among them is Rep. Adam Smith, the most prominent Democratic member of the House Armed Services Committee, who described the future presence of U.S. forces as a major political challenge for Iraqi leaders.
“The Iraqi people prefer that there are no American forces, and they prefer that there is no ISIS either, and they understand that we are helping to solve this problem,” Smith said in an interview with the newspaper.
“The Iraqis want us to leave, and they want to know how to achieve that. That’s not easy.”
Democratic Senator Jack Reid, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the issue combined a set of complex interests for both countries.
“The Iraqis are aware that our presence provides stability, but there is also a danger to our forces,” he added.
Reid noted that US officials were not happy that the new Iranian president, Massoud Bazhkian, made Iraq its first foreign destination, as the Sudanese officially received him on Wednesday.
Republican Rep. Corey Mills, an Iraq war veteran and a member of the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees, said he was particularly concerned about Iran’s influence and the militias it backs.
Although Mills is not opposed to withdrawal in principle, he stressed the need for a plan to ensure the stability of Iraq, “I think you have an obligation, if you destabilize a country, to help it stabilize again.”
The agreement comes after more than six months of talks between Baghdad and Washington that Sudan began in January amid attacks by Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups on U.S. forces stationed at bases in Iraq.
Attacks using rockets and drones killed three U.S. soldiers and wounded dozens, leading to several rounds of deadly U.S. response that threatened the government’s efforts to stabilize Iraq after years of turmoil.
Al-Sudani said earlier that U.S. forces, while appreciating their assistance, had become an attraction for instability, being frequently targeted and usually responded with attacks without coordination with the Iraqi government.
Coffee with MarkZ and Mr. Cottrell. 09/13/2024
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