Iraqi PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi is scheduled to arrive in Washington on Saturday to meet with US President Joe Biden to discuss the latest developments in the strategic dialogue between Iraq and the United States, which began a few days ago and will continue until next Monday. The fate of US troops in Iraq is high on the agenda.
In the fourth round of strategic talks between Iraq and the United States, several meetings were held, including a meeting of the Joint Military Technical Committee. The meeting was attended by an Iraqi delegation led by Qassim al-Araji, Iraq’s national security adviser, and a US delegation led by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Stein. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein also met with his US counterpart Antony Blinken. The meeting between the leaders of the two countries, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and US President Joe Biden, is expected to take place next Monday.
The difference between the fourth round of talks is that the joint statement of Biden and Al-Kazemi is expected to be the end of this round. The statement will discuss the outcome of this round of strategic talks between the two countries, especially the fate of 3,500 foreign troops on Iraqi soil, including 2,500 US troops. Following the assassination of the martyrs Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, at the behest of former US President Donald Trump, the Iraqi parliament and people called for US troops from Iraq.
Interestingly, the American Wall Street Journal, without waiting for the results of these meetings and even the meeting between Biden and Al-Kadhimi, announced that the final statement would call for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq by the end of this year. The newspaper also quoted US officials as saying that the United States would not withdraw its forces from Iraq, but that the maximum it could do was change the role and function of some of them.
Most observers believe that, according to US officials, the country is not seeking the withdrawal of its forces from Iraq, but rather is trying to change their role and function and pretend to the people that it will not, because of the existence and activities of resistance groups. It can withdraw its forces from Iraq and thus incite the people against these groups.
Analyzing their views, these analysts refer to the statements of US military officials who have taken away the status of “military” from the American forces in Iraq and emphasized that these forces will defend themselves if they are attacked !! In this way, it has already justified any aggression against the Iraqi resistance groups. Therefore, if the resistance tries in any way to expose the plans of the occupiers against Iraq and the Iraqis – one of which is the trick of changing the role and function of the occupiers without leaving Iraq – it will face an attack by the occupiers.
Iraqis have a right to worry about their resistance; Because as long as there is popular mobilization and resistance, the United States, Saudi Arabia and “Israel” will not be able to achieve their goals. Therefore, they do everything to destroy the resistance.
The fact that the fourth round of strategic talks between the United States and Iraq has an independent final statement, in which it talks about the change in the functioning of American forces in Iraq, shows that the resistance to the occupiers has paid off, and this resistance can intensify. Force to exit. Instead of cheating, the United States should seize the opportunity and leave Iraq honorably to avoid further damage and casualties before enduring the scandal in Vietnam and Afghanistan.
