Iraqis Urge Formation of Alliance to Expel US Forces
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iraqi political groups urged the formation of an alliance to expel American troops from the Arab country when their mandate finishes by the end of the current year.
They say Washington’s attempts to prolong the presence of its occupation forces must never be taken into consideration.
Fadel Jaber, a member of Sadeqoun coalition at the Iraqi parliament, told the Arabic-language al-Maalomah news agency that a prolonged presence of American troops in Iraq would create divisions within the Iraqi society.
He warned that Americans would try to lure ordinary people into agreeing to their extended presence on Iraqi soil.
According to political analyst Mohammad Karim al-Saedi, the US military’s decision to install C-RAM air defense systems at military bases housing American troops clearly points to Washington’s intention not to leave the country.
“We might be witnessing a sharp escalation of tensions within the coming days as part of efforts to drive US forces out of the country,” he noted.
Moreover, Saad al-Saadi, a member of the political bureau of the anti-terror Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq group, stated that Iraqi resistance factions would engage in an open war against US forces in case the latter continues to be present in Iraq beyond the deadline.
“The prime minister (Mustafa Al-Kadhimi) has agreed with the US side in Washington that US troops will leave Iraq by the end of this year,” he said.
On November 15, the secretary general of Iraq's Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba resistance group held US occupation forces responsible for the upsurge in terrorist attacks by Daesh Takfiri terrorists across the country, saying the current situation proves that terror outfits are all tools in the hands of hegemonic powers.
“The rise in criminal activities of Daesh sleeper cells, behind which the occupier is standing, is yet another evidence that this terrorist organization is nothing but a miserable tool in the hands of global arrogance. We call upon our brave brethren serving within the ranks of security forces and Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) not to be lenient and to mount preemptive strikes (against Daesh),” Akram al-Kaabi wrote in a post published on his Twitter page.
Back in July, US President Joe Biden and the Iraqi prime minister declared that the US mission in Iraq will transition from combat to “advisory” role by the end of the year.
“The delegations decided, following recent technical talks, that the security relationship will fully transition to a training, advising, assisting, and intelligence-sharing role, and that there will be no US forces with a combat role in Iraq by December 31, 2021,” Baghdad and Washington said in a joint statement on July 26.
The agreement, which has effectively given a mere new name to the US military presence in Iraq, has enraged Iraqi resistance groups, which have played a significant role in defeating the Daesh terrorist group in Iraq in 2017.
Anti-US sentiment has been growing in Iraq since last year's assassination of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Units, along with the region's legendary anti-terror commander General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.
They were targeted along with their companions on January 3, 2020, in a terrorist drone strike authorized by former US president Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport.
Two days after the attack, Iraqi lawmakers approved a bill that requires the government to end the presence of all foreign military forces led by the US.