Zebari: I was a witness… America’s withdrawal requires a full year, and the bombing of Erbil began before Gaza

Zebari: I was a witness… America’s withdrawal requires a full year, and the bombing of Erbil began before Gaza

2-12-2024

Hoshyar Zebari, a prominent politician and former Foreign Minister, said that the ongoing bombing of Erbil has nothing to do with the Palestinian issue because these attacks began before the Gaza War. He spoke about targeting the economic activity of the region, reviewing his role as a “key negotiator” with Washington regarding military relations, as he revealed a clause guaranteeing A full year deadline for any withdrawal requested by Baghdad.

Sovereignty is an important issue for self-respecting countries, but it requires an independent national policy carried out by the government that has the capabilities to defend itself. For example, Iran bombed Idlib, Erbil, and Pakistan at the same time, and Pakistan responded by bombing Iranian sites, while neither Iraq nor Syria were able to respond. To establish sovereignty.

I faced an existential problem with the Iraqi state during my work as a minister for a long period, and we need a joint national effort on this issue, although the federal government claims that it is in control of the security services and that it has sovereignty, but it is losing control over some factions that call themselves “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” and are striking. Iraqi military sites include coalition forces invited by Iraq with marches and missiles. They even bomb Erbil airport and investment facilities to paralyze economic life.

Going to the Security Council is a legitimate matter, like what happened in the Gaza war file, and Iraq has the right to resort to the Security Council, but there are conflicting statements about Iraq’s request for the Security Council to hold a session about Iran’s bombing of Erbil, as nothing practical crystallized in the session about the factions’ strikes. The government had to explain the matter at the international level.

There was a contradiction in the government’s positions. Immediately after the bombing, the National Security Advisor, Bahaa Al-Araji, visited Erbil and inspected the site himself, and then delegations came, all of which confirmed that the site was the home of a businessman and not an Israeli site as Iran claims.

If there is Mossad activity in any Arab country, it will not be inside its headquarters, and this is known. We deny any presence, offices, or headquarters for them in Erbil, but it is a ready accusation from the Islamic Republic, as it uses the region as a “wall of defense” to bomb it whenever it has a dispute with America or Israel.

I was the main negotiator in organizing the withdrawal of American forces between 2008 and 2011, and I know all the details. At an Iraqi request, when ISIS threatened Iraq, we directed the request to the United States and the United Nations to help Iraq, and the American forces returned here with the approval and request of the Iraqi government.

American officials, during their visits to Erbil and Baghdad, had one message, which was: “We can adapt to the bombing operations if the blood of the soldiers is not shed, and this is the red line.” The recent bombing, which resulted in the killing and wounding of about 40 people, prompted America to target the factions responsible for this. The attack, and the Iraqi government was supposed to prevent these attacks.

Is Iran directly involved in targeting American forces? This requires investigation, but she does not deny her support for the factions.

The future presence of American forces depends on the achievement of an Iraqi national consensus, and some Shiite brothers have requested their departure, but this is an executive decision that must obtain a national consensus.

There is an agreement between Iraq and America to support the Iraqi forces, and if either party wants to withdraw, it must inform the other party at least a year in advance.

Some factions justify their bombing of American bases in Erbil and Syria as part of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operations, but the truth is that these attacks began before the Gaza War, and have no relation to the Palestinian issue.

What is required of Iraq is to build state institutions and achieve national reconciliation to preserve national sovereignty, and everyone is trying to support Sudanese, so he must take clear steps.

In my opinion, the situation is heading towards a regional escalation, and there are parties that are moving things to their own advantage.

America’s withdrawal from Iraq will have a major impact on the movement of investment and the stability of Iraq, since these matters are intertwined and interconnected, and Iraq is America’s last location in the Middle East, and the presence of the Americans in Iraq is related to the security of the Gulf and the Middle East.

If it were not for the Americans, ISIS would have taken control of larger areas in Kurdistan and the outskirts of Baghdad in 2014, and the threat of ISIS cells still exists in Syria and Iraq, such as Diyala and southern Erbil.

The region did not pose a security threat to Iran, Turkey, or Syria, but there are calculations to undermine the region and bring it to its knees because it has the courage and ability to say “no.”

There is a positive dialogue with Mr. Sudanese about financial dues and the region’s elections during next May, and we support this government to have more authority, sovereignty, and services.

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