US again delays announcement of reducing troops in Iraq
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Official sources told Al Mayadeen that the United States is postponing the reduction of its forces stationed in Iraq.
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Iraqis chant during a rally before the parliamentary elections in Baghdad, Iraq, October 7, 2021 (AP)
The United States has postponed the official announcement of a scheduled troop reduction in Iraq that was expected this week, a source familiar with the matter told Al Mayadeen on Monday.
The sources indicated that the US side reversed its decision to announce the troop reduction after internal deliberations. This change of plan occurred before the US met with the Iraqi side under the framework of the Iraqi-American Bilateral Committee.
Sources added to Al Mayadeen that the decision to delay the announcement is linked to the recent prioritization of the US troop withdrawal from Niger.
The US military completed the withdrawal of all its soldiers from Air Base 101 in Niamey on Sunday.
Reviewing presence of 'international coalition'
US President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani revealed in April that they would work together to ensure the withdrawal of a US-led coalition in the country amid regional tensions following "Israel's" war on Gaza.
A joint statement by Biden and al-Sudani declared that they discussed the "natural evolution" of the coalition "in light of the significant progress that has been made in ten years" and that they would continue to look into issues like ISIS (Daesh), support for the Iraqi government, and boosting Iraqi security forces.
"The two leaders affirmed they would review these factors to determine when and how the mission of the International Coalition in Iraq would end," the statement noted.
According to AP, the objective would be to transform talks into a bilateral agreement that could still keep a few US troops in Iraq, which already exist as 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria as part of the coalition, knowing that in Syria they are officially considered occupation forces.
