Business Insider: Iraq is a complex test for Trump to exert influence in the region
Business Insider: Iraq is a complex test for Trump to exert influence in the region
1-26-2025
Information/Translation..
A report by the American newspaper Business Insider confirmed, on Sunday, that the confusing situation in the region as a result of the American-backed wars and conflicts has made Iraq a difficult tool and a complex test for the upcoming Trump administration and the exercise of American influence in the region.
The report, translated by Al-Maalouma Agency, stated that “there are about 2,500 American soldiers in Iraq, who are present under the pretext of ISIS, and the question is whether Trump will follow the hawkish policy and directly intervene in Iraqi affairs, or will be isolationist and withdraw the remaining American forces, whose presence dates back to the war that Trump once described as a “big and heavy mistake.”
“The major shifts in the balance of power in the region, coupled with President Trump’s reappointment, mean that the Iraqi government wants to be reassured about the presence of American forces in Syria and confront the Syrian situation from the Ain al-Asad base,” said Michael Knights, an expert on Iraq at the Washington Institute.
The report explained that “Iraq proved to be a pivotal flashpoint in Trump’s first term, as it witnessed the assassination of one of the top Iranian generals there, General Soleimani, in addition to the deputy head of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Authority, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, and Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles at American forces at the Al-Asad base, which resulted in the injury of more than 100 American personnel.”
“No one can honestly say that Iraq today is balanced between Iran and the United States when the Iraqi government was appointed,” Knights said. “The Iraqi government, intelligence services, and economy are now filled with elements of the resistance factions, and that must change before the Trump team sees Iraq as a reliable friend again.”
The report revealed that “the United States seeks to remove the Popular Mobilization Forces before they become too rich and powerful to be controlled.” According to American allegations, however, none of these moves will have any meaningful impact on the resistance because it has always followed its leaders and Baghdad and is not subject to external dictates, especially from America and its allies.
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