Security and political experts: Supporting the government’s negotiations with the international coalition is a national duty

Baghdad - INA

Experts in security and political affairs welcomed today, Thursday, the government's announcement to negotiate with the international coalition to formulate a schedule for the withdrawal of its advisors, stressing that the countdown to the withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq has actually begun, while calling for support for the Iraqi negotiator.

Security expert and military strategist Sarmad al-Bayati told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “The reorganization of the relationship in accordance with the strategic framework agreement between Iraq and the United States of America is not limited to security only, but rather includes the economy, agriculture, industry, and other issues.”

He added, "The bilateral military committee will begin its work in the coming days to arrange a new security relationship between Iraq and the United States, and in the coming time it will lead to the withdrawal of international coalition advisors present in Iraq after agreeing on certain points on how to ensure that ISIS gangs or groups do not appear again on Iraqi territory.”

In turn, security expert Fadel Abu Ragheef told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, is making a great effort and role to calm the situation in the country. “ He added, "The recent ministerial meeting for national security put the dots on the letters through strategic solutions, the most important of which is discussing the presence of coalition forces in the Iraqi camps and scheduling the withdrawal of these forces through the formation of high- level technical committees by the Iraqi and international coalition sides."

Political analyst Ali Fadlallah told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “The withdrawal of American forces is a governmental and popular demand,” indicating that “what the Iraqi government has done is to fulfill the government program, which included among its paragraphs working to Remove foreign forces from Iraq, especially Military forces.

He added, "Prime Minister Mohamed Al-Sudani began implementing this paragraph that was included in the government program, and this is what counts for this government; it is taking real practical steps and not false promises whose purpose is to overcome crises."
He pointed out, "The seriousness of implementation by the Prime Minister will force the American side to leave Iraq according to balanced conditions between the Iraqi government and the American side."

For his part, political analyst Hamza Mustafa told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “Activating bilateral committees between Iraq and the United States of America to determine a clear and specific schedule for the withdrawal of American forces and the international coalition from Iraq is one of the issues that Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani pledged to in the platform.” government and it has now been achieved.” 00000

He added, "The countdown has actually begun for the withdrawal of American forces and the organization of the relationship between Iraq and the countries that represent the international coalition on bilateral grounds."

He pointed out, "We will engage in relations outside the context of the international coalition to fight ISIS, given that Iraq was able to defeat ISIS and no longer needs international efforts in this matter. Rather, we need to activate bilateral relations at all levels in the economy, investment, development, and political and military relations within known frameworks and in the advisory aspects.

He continued, "The process of drawing up relations between Iraq and the international coalition has begun, which requires everyone to contribute to supporting it and giving an opportunity to the Iraqi negotiator to be able to extract the largest possible amount of gains for Iraq in this regard and bring the withdrawal processes to the lowest possible extent. This support is a national duty."

In turn, political analyst Ali Al-Baidar confirmed in his speech to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that “removing American forces from Iraq is a matter of time and the government is serious about this issue and the subject of negotiations is the way, especially since it is sovereign and must leave its evaluation to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the government, the state and its security institutions that.

He added, "The government can achieve the desired goal of the dialogue in the interest of the stability that the country is experiencing today and the imposition of national sovereignty."

The ministry said in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “In fulfillment of its national obligations and in line with the growing capacity and efficiency of the Iraqi forces, the Iraqi government announces, in agreement with the government of the United States of America, the success of the ongoing negotiation rounds between the two sides that began since August 2023 and its conclusion indicates the necessity of launching the Higher Military Committee (HMC) at the working group level to assess ISIS threat, situational and operational requirements and enhance the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, in order to formulate a specific and clear timetable that specifies the duration of the presence of the international coalition’s advisors in Iraq and to begin the deliberate gradual reduction of its advisors on Iraqi soil and end the military mission of the coalition against ISIS.”.

MOFA added, "The agreement includes a transition to comprehensive bilateral relations with the coalition countries, political, economic, cultural, security, and military, consistent with the vision of the Iraqi government and we particularly mention the Strategic Framework Agreement, which regulates the comprehensive relations between Iraq and the United States of America and reflects the common desire for cooperation between the two sides in a way that achieves the interests of the two countries and contributes to “By strengthening Iraq’s regional and international role in a manner befitting its historical status and building the best relations with the international community to serve the interests and aspirations of the Iraqi people.”.

The Ministry continued, "The two sides expressed support for the work of the committee, facilitating its tasks, and refraining from anything that obstructs or delays its work. Maintaining the course of the committee's work and its success in achieving its mission is a national interest, in addition to contributing to preserving the stability of Iraq and the region.".

The Foreign Ministry noted, "The government called for the work of this committee not to be halted, faltered, or interrupted, and to work to avoid tampering with Iraq's stability to achieve special goals.".

The statement affirmed, “Iraq renews its commitment to the safety of the international coalition’s advisors during the negotiation period throughout the country, to maintaining stability and preventing escalation. The government also confirms its welcome of this agreement and considers it part of its fulfillment in fulfilling the government program and the pledges it has committed to before the people.”.