Posted on 01/25/2024 6:49:30 PM PST by FarCenter
Baghdad (AFP) – The United States and Iraq said Thursday they will begin discussions on the future of American and other foreign troops in the country, with Baghdad expecting the talks to lead to a timeline for reducing their presence.
Washington has forces in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, but the country's prime minister -- whose government relies on the support of Iran-aligned parties -- has called for the coalition to leave.
The talks -- which have been planned for months -- will 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.
Washington and Baghdad agreed to form working groups that 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", Iraq's foreign ministry said.
The ministry said the timeline would be contingent on evaluating the "threat posed by IS and its danger" as well as the "reinforcement of the capacities of the Iraqi security forces".
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin confirmed meetings would start "in the coming days" and said the process will "enable the transition to an enduring bilateral security partnership between the United States and Iraq".
"The coalition's mission to defeat (IS) will transition on a timeline that considers three key factors: the threat from (IS), operational and environmental requirements, and the Iraqi security forces' capability levels," Austin said.
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
What is the Obiden administration worried about? They’ll STEAL IT AGAIN in 2024 so the COMPLETION OF THE U.S.-ASSISTED TRANSFER OF IRAQ TO IRAN isn’t a big rush, is it?
The George W Bush Presidency was more damaging than Clinton or Obama.
DHS
TSA
Patriot Act
Afghanistan War
Iraq War
We never should have gone to Iraq. We created a power vacuum for Iran to fill.
There was a fundamental flaw in seeking to create a democracy in Iraq — 60% of the population was Shiite.
And we’re to believe the Pentagon just missed that tidbit?
Not to mention the irony of us going to Afghanistan to “get bin Laden and remove the Taliban”.
Osama bin Laden gained experience in the Mujahideen which we funded to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan.
Also, after 20 years of war, we left Afghanistan to the Taliban...
The idiotic US policy of removing Mideast dictatorships created the Muslim Nazis to fill the vacuum starting in 1979.
So Iran is going to finally win that war from the ‘80’s and take over. Probably already has.
The only “troops” we should have in Iraq, should it become necessary, are the crews of a flight of B52’s traversing that Third World Allah FUBAR Shit hole at 30k feet using the BUFF’s unique Time Machine feature sending them back to the 7th Century where they can be happy little Jihadists.
Pull our troops out of Iraq and bring them home to our southern border.
To hell with Iraq.
Ooh, another opportunity for BeijingBiden to surrender like he did in Afghan. This will get Iran to back off on Israel and Houthis.
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