January 16, 2023
Baghdad / Obelisk: Agence France-Presse considered that an interview published by the Wall Street Journal, on Sunday, with Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, showed Sudani’s keenness to please the United States, which continues to intensify its tone against Iran.
Al-Sudani told the newspaper that he wants to send a high-level delegation to Washington soon, perhaps as a prelude to a meeting between him and President Joe Biden.
Al-Sudani considered that his country is still at the present time “in need of foreign forces” present in it, most of which are American, according to what came in an interview published Sunday by the Wall Street Journal.
“We believe we need foreign forces,” said Al-Sudani, who has held the post since the end of October, adding, “Eliminating ISIS will take some time.”
“We do not need forces fighting inside Iraqi territory,” he said, explaining that “the threat to Iraq stems from the infiltration of (extremist organization) cells from Syria.”
The United States has about two thousand military personnel in Iraq to carry out training and advisory missions.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is also carrying out a non-combat mission in Iraq, in which, according to its website, “hundreds” of personnel from several member states or NATO partners (Australia, Finland and Sweden) participate.
According to the French Agency, the Sudanese government, which gained confidence after a year of bloody clashes, sometimes relies on the support of parties allied to Iran that dominate parliament. Iraq also relies heavily on gas and electricity from its eastern neighbor.
The Iraqi government faces enormous expectations from Iraqis who are exhausted by a serious economic and social crisis.
At the end of November, the Iraqi Prime Minister visited Tehran, which saw promises of strengthening cooperation on the security and economic levels.
In a related context, there are talks about a dispute between the Sudanese government and the Shiite parties that support it over the position on the American presence in Iraq.
Ali al-Ghanmi, a member of the political bureau in the Euphrates Movement, led by Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani, said about the differences within the coordination framework or the state administration coalition over the relationship with the United States, according to his statements published in local media.
Al-Ghanimi, a former deputy, explained that some political parties – he did not name them – have reservations about the relationship with Washington because of the airport incident. in order to.
It is hoped that Al-Sudani’s protocol visit to Washington will discuss the common security file between Baghdad and Washington, especially with the presence of an escalation by the armed factions against the American presence.
The leader of the Sayyid al-Shuhada Brigades, Abbas al-Zaidi, revealed to Al-Masalla the resistance’s dissatisfaction with the actions of the government of Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani.
Al-Sudani had stressed the importance of continuing joint work, especially in the field of advising and training the Iraqi forces, which are fighting the confrontation against terrorism effectively and professionally.
Al-Zaidi told Al-Masalla: We reject the intervention of the US embassy in the Iraqi issue, warning against complete submission to the occupation, as there is no specific ceiling for the goals and aggressive projects of the occupation in Iraq or the region across Iraq.
A member of the House of Representatives, Jassim Al-Moussawi, directed a request to Parliament regarding the presence of foreign forces on Iraqi soil, and while he confirmed that the US forces had caused major violations to the country, he considered Washington’s allegations of providing aid to Iraq as “false.”
Maqarat expects that the current government is aware of the impact of the escalation on the internal political and economic situation, and that it does not want the relationship with Washington to deteriorate.
And the leader in the framework, Mahmoud Al-Hayani, considered the talk about the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq unreal, and just a media talk.
In light of the security calm during the Sudanese era until now, it is not known whether it was a temporary truce decision, or a framework government decision to coexist permanently with the American presence in Iraq.
Obelisk – follow-up – agencies
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