Washington comments on the decision of the Iraqi parliament to end the presence of foreign forces
English - Monday 06 January 2020 الساعة 08:28 am
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On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo commented on the Iraqi parliament’s vote to end the presence of foreign forces, saying that Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi resigned a while ago because of Iranian interference in Iraqi affairs, indicating that the parliament’s decision was a reflection of Iranian pressure.
Pompeo said the United States is looking forward to continuing its work in Iraq.
The Iraqi parliament had decided earlier today, Sunday, to end the security agreement with the international coalition against ISIS, despite the absence of Sunni and Kurdish blocs, and voted on a resolution calling on the government to end the presence of foreign forces in the country, and not to use Iraqi lands or airspace for any reason.
After the parliament’s decision, demonstrations were launched from Tahrir Square in Baghdad, denouncing the decision to end the presence of foreign forces and protesters chanted the exit of Iran from Iraq.
The protesters again demanded an independent, non-affiliated Prime Minister of the pro-Tehran parties.
It is noteworthy that Parliament’s decisions differ from the laws, as they are not binding on the government.
In turn, the Iraqi News Agency reported that the House of Representatives voted on a parliamentary decision of 5 measures, and raised its session to next Saturday.
For his part, the resigned Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi (loyal to Iran), in his speech to parliament, called for taking the necessary measures to end the presence of foreign forces as soon as possible. Abdul-Mahdi said, "Despite the internal and external difficulties that may face us, but it remains the best for Iraq, in principle and in practice."
On Sunday, the US-led international coalition announced the suspension of operations to train Iraqi forces and combat against ISIS, because of "a commitment to protect Iraqi bases hosting the coalition forces."
"Our top priority is to protect all coalition soldiers committed to the task of defeating ISIS," the coalition said in a statement, recalling that repeated rocket attacks over the past two months by members of the Hezbollah Brigades had killed members of the Iraqi security forces and an American civilian.
"This has limited our ability to carry out training missions with partners and support their operations against ISIS, so we have suspended these activities and the matter is under constant review," he added.
"As a result, we are fully committed to protecting Iraqi bases hosting coalition forces," the statement added.
