Iraq officials meet NATO brass, discuss future of foreign troops

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq aims to restrict the activities of foreign forces on its soil, telling NATO officials on Wednesday that any future military operations must have Baghdad’s prior knowledge and approval before  implementation on the ground.

Following a US drone strike on January 3 which killed a top Iranian general and an Iraqi militia chief at Baghdad airport, the Iraqi parliament passed a non-binding resolution demanding the expulsion of all foreign forces. 

Based on a 2014 security agreement, the US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State group (ISIS) is in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government. The strike against a non-ISIS target was widely seen as an attack on Iraq’s sovereignty.

Iraqi ministers met a delegation from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Baghdad on Wednesday to discuss the future security relationship.

“The Iraqi government needs a partnership with NATO based on respecting Iraq’s sovereignty and every military activity should have Iraqi government’s acceptance and knowledge,” Abdul-Karim Khalaf, spokesman for Iraq’s caretaker prime minister and commander-in-chief Adil Abdul-Mahdi, told state media outlet INA.

Falih al-Fayaddh, Iraq’s National Security Advisor, and committees from both Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Joint Operation Command, attended the meeting.

The presence of US forces has long been a contentious issue. Iraq’s powerful Shiite parties, especially those close to Iran, have long called for their removal. 

Their calls have intensified since the January 3 strike, which killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

The US has around 5,000 troops stationed across Iraqi military bases to advise, assist, and train local forces in the fight against ISIS remnants.

Iraq is now trying to reach a new deal with coalition forces whereby foreign troops would remain in Iraq, but under the name of NATO. Their role would be limited to training and advising. They would no longer be permitted to carry out ground operations.

There are fears a premature withdrawal could allow ISIS to resurge.

The political directors of the anti-ISIS coalition met in Copenhagen on Wednesday to discuss the fight against ISIS and the continuity of the coalition mission in Iraq.

The political directors released a joint statement on Wednesday declaring they would not be withdrawing forces from the region. Instead they would enter into dialogue with the Iraqi government to adapt “operational efficiency and coordination”.

“The coalition will continue to further develop its support for and close partnership with the Iraqi government, the Iraqi Security Forces, and our partners in the region in their ongoing efforts to diminish Daesh/ISIS’s capabilities and ensure it cannot reemerge.”

Formed in 2014 after ISIS swept across large areas of Syria and Iraq, the 81-country coalition has supported Iraqi and Peshmerga forces with training, equipment, and air cover.

ISIS was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017. However, remnants of the group continue to wage a low level insurgency, launching ambushes, kidnappings, and targeted killings.

The latest Pentagon Inspector General report, which provides Congress with a quarterly update on the fight against ISIS, said the group continues to reestablish and expand its command and control structures in Iraq, enabling it to stage more attacks.

“ISIS in Iraq conducted both attacks of opportunity, such as improvised bombs and hit-and-run attacks, and attacks designed to intimidate or gain influence, such as assassinations, kidnappings, and sniper attacks,” the report read.