The US Army: We do not expect to withdraw from Iraq at the moment … and it determines the reason
The US Army: We do not expect to withdraw from Iraq at the moment … and it determines the reason
04/22/2021 18:47:00
The commander of the US Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie, ruled out the withdrawal of his country’s forces from Iraq soon.
“We do not expect to withdraw from Iraq at this time,” McKinsey said in a press statement.
“We will maintain our presence based on the strategic dialogue between the United States and Iraq,” he added.
The foreign ministers of Iraq, Fuad Hussein and the United States, Anthony Blinken, made the session of the “Iraqi-American Strategic Dialogue” in its third round on April 8, through visual communication technology between the two sides.
This is the first tour for the Iraqis with officials from the new US administration, after two rounds of dialogue that were held with the administration of former US President Donald Trump.
A joint Iraqi-American statement, after the dialogue session, said that the United States agreed to transfer the remaining combat forces from Iraq.
The statement added, which comes after the “Iraqi-American Strategic Dialogue” sessions, that the two countries confirmed that “the presence of American forces in Iraq came at the invitation of the Iraqi government for the purpose of supporting the Iraqi security forces in their war against ISIS.”
The statement continued, “In light of the development of the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, the two parties concluded that the role of the American and international coalition forces has now shifted to training and advisory missions in a way that allows the redeployment of the remaining combat forces outside Iraq.”
The statement also indicated that the two parties would agree on timelines related to the withdrawal of combat forces in “future technical talks.”
In return, the Iraqi government renewed its commitment to protect the personnel and convoys of the International Coalition and the diplomatic missions of its states, according to the statement.
The two countries also stressed that the bases in which the members of the international coalition “are present” are Iraqi bases and they are present in them exclusively to support Iraq’s efforts in the war against ISIS.
According to the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon), the number of US forces in Iraq decreased to about 2,500 soldiers during the past months.
alforatnews.com
