Petraeus in Baghdad: American messages and political moves with the new government
Petraeus in Baghdad: American messages and political moves with the new government
5-16-2026
Information / Special..
Political analyst Mohammed Talib Karim linked the visit of retired US General David Petraeus to Baghdad and his meeting with high-level officials and political figures to the continuation of US pressure on Iraq.
Karim told Al-Maalomah that Petraeus’s visit was “unusual and carries a hidden agenda that the United States seeks to implement in Iraq in conjunction with the formation of a new government,” noting that “the retired American general is one of the architects of the Iraqi phase after 2003,” and that he “was leading the security files, in addition to having previously taken over the management of the American intelligence agency.”
Karim added that “any appearance of Petraeus in Baghdad is a political and security event,” especially since “his meetings included the head of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Speaker of Parliament,” a move through which Washington seeks to “reorganize its relations with Iraqi state institutions.”
Karim suggested that “the United States will move towards repositioning itself within Iraq in the coming period after the decline of its influence” and its failure to achieve a “clear victory” over Iran and the resistance factions in the Middle East, specifically “losing the bet on the Strait of Hormuz and the inability to overcome this obstacle.”
He added that “American assessments in the Middle East are heading towards redrawing new balances, at a time when Iraq is being viewed as a central knot due to its geographical location, which is an important economic corridor linking the Gulf with Syria and Europe.”
Karim believed that “Petraeus’s visit carries a double message to the Iraqi interior,” the first being that Washington is present and monitoring Iraqi details, and the second being “an attempt to produce a new Iraqi formula (with an American recipe) whose ingredients are set by Washington.”
Petraeus arrived in Iraq in the past few hours, coinciding with the new government assuming its duties. In Baghdad, he met separately with the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, Faiq Zaidan, and the Speaker of Parliament, Haibat al-Halbousi.
almaalomah.me
