Washington, Baghdad open talks on foreign troops in Iraq

Iraq and the United States on Saturday held
a “first round” of talks on the future of American and other foreign troops
in the country, with Baghdad expecting discussions to lead to a timeline for
reducing their presence.

The office of Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani issued a photograph of
the head of government with top-ranking officials both of the Iraqi armed
forces and of the international coalition set up by Washington to fight the
Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.

Sudani “is hosting the start of the first round of bilateral dialogue between
Iraq and the US to end the mission of the international coalition in Iraq,”
the office said in a statement.

“The talks and whatever progress made will determine the length of these
negotiations,” Sudani’s foreign affairs adviser, Farhad Alaaldin, told AFP.

“Iraq is engaging the other countries taking part in the international
coalition for bilateral agreements that serves the best interest of Iraq and
these countries.”

Washington had said on Thursday that it had agreed with Baghdad on the launch
of “expert working groups of military and defence professionals” as part of
the Higher Military Commission set up in agreement with Baghdad.

The working groups would examine “three key factors”, Washington said: “the
threat from ISIS, operational and environmental requirements and the Iraqi
Security Forces’ capability levels.”

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh acknowledged that the US
military footprint in Iraq “will certainly be part of the conversations as it
goes forward”, indicating that Baghdad’s desire for a reduction in these
forces is on the table.

For Iraq’s foreign ministry, the aim would eventually lead to formulating “a
specific and clear timeline… and to begin the gradual reduction of its (the
coalition’s) advisers on Iraqi soil”.

The talks — which have been planned for months — come at a time of
heightened tensions in Iraq and the region linked to the war between Israel
and Hamas, which has sparked a surge in attacks on American and other
coalition forces.

There have been more than 150 attacks targeting coalition troops since mid-
October, many of them claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose
alliance of Iran-linked groups that oppose US support for Israel in the Gaza
conflict.

There are roughly 2,500 US troops deployed in Iraq and about 900 in Syria as
part of the anti-IS coalition formed in 2014 — the year the jihadist group
overran around a third of Iraq. (BSS/AFP)