Iraq Condemns Presence of US Troops in Its Territory

Orinoco Tribune, September 23, 2023 —

The prime minister of Iraq, Muhamad Shia al-Sudani, condemned the presence of a foreign military in Iraqi territory.

“Our official position is clear: there is no need for foreign combat forces in Iraq,” Iraqi Prime Minister Muhamad Shia al-Sudani emphasized in statements to the US media organization, Bloomberg, on Thursday, September 21, on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

He added that his country has security services capable of maintaining law and order, and there is no need for foreign troops for Iraqi security issues.

Last month, al-Sudani had praised the sacrifices made by the Iraqi military forces in the fight against terrorism and had noted that the presence of foreign troops was no longer necessary in the country.

Although the US claims that its combat mission in Iraq ended and withdrew its troops between 2007 and 2011, nearly 2,500 American soldiers still remain in Iraqi territory under the pretext of combating the Daesh terrorist group.

In 2020, following the assassination of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Organization (Al-Hashad al-Shabi in Arabic), along with prominent Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, by US airstrikes, Iraqi lawmakers passed a bill requiring the government to end the presence of all US-led foreign military forces in the country. However, the US government has continued to maintain its military presence in Iraq, neglecting the law and violating Iraqi sovereignty.