The Army Chief of Staff reveals the details of the Supreme Committee meetings to end the international coalition mission

INA- Baghdad 

The chief of staff of the Iraqi Army, Lieutenant General Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah, confirmed the continuation of the Supreme Military Committee meetings to end the international coalition mission in Iraq.
 
Yarallah, who heads the Supreme Military Committee, said in an interview with the Iraqi News Agency(INA): "The visit that took place in 2023, headed by the Minister of Defense, my presence, the Deputy Commander of Joint Operations, the head of the counter-terrorism service, the chief of staff of the Peshmerga and several officers to Washington from August 6 to 8 of 2023, discussed many issues, including the file of ending the international coalition mission in Iraq", indicating that "the bottom line of the statement was the agreement on the formation of a Supreme Committee of Iraq and also a Supreme Committee of the coalition forces to take over the termination of international coalition mission on time".
 
He added that "The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces ordered after our return from Washington to form the Supreme Committee headed by me and the membership of several officers, the committee was purely military, while on the part of the Coalition, a committee headed by the commander of the forces of the Central American region was formed".
 
He pointed out that " three committees were formed after the first meeting chaired by the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, the first related to the assessment of terrorist Daesh, the second the operational environment committee related to the fields of operations, while the third focused on the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces "adding "We on the Iraqi side formed the committees where Daesh Assessment Committee, the environment and Operations Committee and the capabilities committee”.
 
He added, 'The first meeting took place, and last week, the second meeting was convened. Meetings are scheduled every 15 days,' noting that 'the discussions are ongoing and progressing seamlessly towards establishing timelines for concluding the coalition's mission in Iraq.'"
 
Yarallah explained, "We have observed a level of seriousness in the international coalition meetings, and there has been a responsive approach from the coalition concerning our requirements and what we need from them."

"The tasks of the international coalition are currently confined to air support, devoid of any military forces on the ground. This responsibility is exclusively entrusted to our security forces, operating under various names including the army, the Popular Mobilization, the Counter-Terrorism Service, and the federal police," he stated.

"The Army Chief of Staff pointed out that the discussion with the international coalition centers around air and intelligence aspects. He added, 'Regarding the ground operations, we are fully capable of executing our tasks, and we do not require any additional forces for support.'"
He pointed out that "The Iraqi vision is to completely conclude the coalition mission and establish a specific timeframe for the end of its mission fully, transitioning into a phase of bilateral partnership based on memorandums of understanding between the Iraqi Ministry of Defense and several coalition countries. He indicated that the mission of the military committee is solely focused on ending the presence of the international coalition, while the task of shaping bilateral relations will fall under the purview of the Defense Ministry and other relevant ministries. Emphasizing the strategic framework agreement with the United States, integral to the security aspect, he highlighted how bilateral memoranda and the transition of relations to different levels with other coalition countries will emerge through this agreement".