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Kurdistan
A US soldier walks in Kirkuk's K1 base on March 29, 2020, the day the base was handed over to Iraqi security forces. File photo: Fazel Hawramy/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Foreign Relations Department said he was concerned over the withdrawal of international coalition forces from Iraq, saying national forces are not equipped to handle the threat of increased terrorist attacks and re-emergence of the Islamic State group (ISIS).
Iraq “lacks a stable military force that can prevent the previous experience that inflicted severe human and material damage from happening again,” Safeen Dizayee told Rudaw's Hemin Baban on Saturday.
“We saw the disaster that fell on this country in 2014, how ISIS militants managed to occupy a third of the country, and tens of thousands of people fell victim. The possibility of the recurrence of these events still exists,” Dizayee added, describing the withdrawal of foreign forces as a “wrong move.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi departed on Sunday for Washington where he will meet with US President Joe Biden on Monday at the White House to discuss a timetable for the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq.
There are currently 3,500 foreign soldiers in Iraq, 2,500 of them Americans, as part of the global coalition against ISIS.
ISIS took control of the swathes of Iraq and Syria in the summer of 2014. It was announced territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017. However, the terror group remains active across the country, especially in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad. Sleeper cells have taken shelter in a security void that stretches across the disputed territories between Iraq and the Region. The militants ambush, kidnap, and extort both civilians and members of the Iraqi and Peshmerga forces.
“Iraq still needs the international coalition forces to be present. There is a large security vacuum in this country and a wide security vacuum between the Peshmerga forces and Iraqi forces that ISIS exploits to launch attacks on a daily basis with citizens becoming its victims,” said Dizayee.
Given the ISIS resurgence as well as militia groups, many backed by Iran and operating outside control of the state, the Kurdistan Region does not support a coalition exit from the country. Kurdish officials believe that such a move would “put Iraq in danger,” he said.
“Iraq is a country that still suffers from instability, and the interference of other countries in its internal affairs is a clear threat,” he added.
Kadhimi’s trip to Washington is part of the strategic dialogue over the US role and presence in Iraq. He is under pressure to secure a US commitment to withdraw. Last year, the Iraqi parliament passed a non-binding resolution calling for the expulsion of foreign forces after the US assassinated Iraqi militia deputy commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
In an interview before he departed, Kadhimi told The Associated Press that he will ask for US troops in Iraq to focus on training and military intelligence gathering. It is unclear if this formal shift in role will result in a reduction in troop numbers.
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