US withdrawal from Iraq
The US has agreed to withdraw its remaining combat forces from Iraq, at a date to be determined in talks with Baghdad, and remain in the country solely in an advisory and support role against terrorists.
“US forces are in Iraq at the invitation of Iraqi Government to support the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) in their fight against ISIS,” said a joint statement following the “strategic dialogue” between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein on Wednesday.
“Based on the increasing capacity of the ISF, the parties confirmed that the mission of US and Coalition forces has now transitioned to one focused on training and advisory tasks, thereby allowing for the redeployment of any remaining combat forces from Iraq, with the timing to be established in upcoming technical talks,” the statement added.
Joint statement on the U.S.-Iraq strategic dialogue. security section 3rd pic pic.twitter.com/4i0pGFD0XQ
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) April 7, 2021
Hussein and Blinken agreed to “continue bilateral security coordination and cooperation” between the US and Iraq and emphasised in the joint statement that “the bases on which US and Coalition personnel are present are Iraqi bases and their presence is solely in support of Iraq’s effort in the fight against ISIS.”
Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS) claimed a large portion of Iraq and Syria in the year 2014, prompting the US to send troops back into Iraq as part of the ‘Operation Inherent Resolve.’ Even though the last territory claimed by the IS “Caliphate” was liberated in March 2019 by the US – backed militia in Syria, Washington has kept combat troops in the region citing fears of a “resurgence.”
On Sunday, two rockets were fired on the Balad air base near Baghdad, which hosts US contractors in addition to Iraqi troops. They missed the base and hit a nearby village instead. There were no casualties. This follows a March 15 attack on the base with five rockets. While no group has claimed responsibility, the US has blamed Shia militias – which Washington says are backed by neighboring Iran – for the attacks.
The militias have demanded the departure of some 2,500 US troops currently stationed in Iraq, calling their presence an occupation. The US had invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003, and did not withdraw until December 2011. US and allied forces have destroyed the Middle East economy, converted the region into perpetual war zone and disturbed area and controlling the oil output of the region.
Oil assets of Iraq is owned by The Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), known prior to 1929 as the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPC), is an oil company which, between 1925 and 1961, had a virtual monopoly on all oil exploration and production in Iraq. It is jointly owned by some of the world’s largest oil companies and headquartered in London, England, although today it is a paper entity with historical rights and plays no part in the modern development of Middle Eastern oil.
In June 1972, the Ba’athist government in Iraq nationalised the IPC and its operations were taken over by the Iraq National Oil Company. The company “Iraq Petroleum Company” still remains extant, however, on paper and one associated company: the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company (ADPC, formerly Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Ltd) – also continues with its original shareholding intact.
The related Iraq Petroleum Group was an association of companies that played a major role in the discovery and development of oil resources in areas of the Middle East outside Iraq.
US planned this middle east attack to prove its superiority to the world. A quick and decisive victory in the heart of the Arab world would send a message to all countries, especially to recalcitrant regimes such as Syria, Libya, Iran, or North Korea, that American hegemony was here to stay. Put simply, the Iraq war was motivated by a desire to (re)establish American standing as the world’s leading power.
Indeed, even before 9/11, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld saw Iraq through the prism of status and reputation, variously arguing in February and July 2001 that ousting Saddam would “enhance US credibility and influence throughout the region” and “demonstrate what US policy is all about”.
What a shame that in order to prove its hegemony, a beautiful nation was dumped and destroyed to its rubbles.
