On Thursday, the US-led anti-ISIS coalition in Iraq and Syria released a report that says the Iraqi military is incapable of operating on its own. The report comes as the US is planning to formally end its combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year but wants to keep troops in the country under a training and advisory role.
The report from Operation Inherent Resolve’s (OIR) Inspector General says ISIS attacks are down about 20 percent from the year before. But when conducting operations against ISIS, the Iraqi military “consistently requested Coalition support for airstrikes,” and the report concluded that the “Iraqi Partner Forces remain dependent on Coalition support.”
President Biden announced in July that the US would end its combat mission in Iraq. There are currently about 2,500 US troops in Iraq, but reports at the time of Biden’s announcement said that the number is not expected to change even after the US formally changes its role in the country.
One reason the US doesn’t want to leave Iraq is that forces based in the country support US troops in Syria. The OIR report said the Kurdish-led forces that the US supports in Syria are also reliant on the coalition for intelligence gathering purposes.
In Syria, the report said ISIS activity reduced significantly, coming down by 86 percent from the year before. The US presence in Syria is more about putting pressure on the Syrian government than fighting ISIS.
In both countries, the US could leave, and there would be plenty of forces capable of fighting ISIS despite what the OIR report said. In Iraq, the Shia militias that the US has bombed in recent years are sworn enemies of ISIS and can work with the government in Baghdad. In Syria, the Syrian government currently does most of the fighting against ISIS.
Do the Iraqis get a say in the matter?
Nope
Only if they have the courage to defy America
Keep in mind that the United States holds Iraq’s oil revenues hostage, I mean, for “safekeeping.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-warns-iraq-it-risks-losing-access-to-key-bank-account-if-troops-told-to-leave-11578759629
Sounds like Afghanistan.
There’s no Taliban in Iraq
What difference does it make? There is “ISIS” in Iraq, once we claimed that there was al-Qaida in Iraq, silo that Petreaus could arm Sunni Awakening to fight “Al-Qaeda”. Soon thereafter, there were Shia mass graves found everywhere.
We may have midwifed the founding and launching of Taliban (“student”) movement along with Pakistani special ops, Saudi money and Salafi religious extremist cult — but they served their purpose and eliminated Soviet backed regime in Kabul. After that, Taliban and the predecessor Al-Qaeda outlived their usefulness, Time to occupy.
Then tables turned. Pakistan had a fundamental change of elite power, as a result of American change of plans — leaving them un the dark. Pakistan survived an attempt of bringing Bhutto oligarchy back, but a random assassination then paved a way for pushing out an accommodating Musharaf in order to install “civilian” very Islamic former allies, barons of paid militia forces for all occasions. Just give them name and flag.
As it transpired new Pakistan played the old Pakistan game, only this time taking advantage of Taliban remnants to form a backbone of a real opposition force. We liked them at first — as a good excuse to stay as Kabul Army needed our training. While periodically bombing countryside, creating more support for Taliban. Result, there was no way to win, and just watch how Taliban controlled more of Afghanistan. To stem that, Syrian ISIS was transported into Afghanistan to fight Taliban. It was the worst kept secret. But too little and too late. The mess is left up to the region to stabilize.
How is Iraq different? We tried to break it up on Sunni, Shia and Kurd states — by the way, Biden idea. Sunni state was to take Sunni parts if Syria, and promising Kurds a state, would have left only a rump Syria around Damascus,
Nothing worked out, as Iraq beat ISIS without our real help. Now, in the face of strengthening Iraqi state, we are still having a small reservoir of former ISIS in Al-Tanf base in Syria, conveniently located for periodic terror attacks – hence reason for staying.
We shall see.
I think America is in a very weak position in Iraq, I don’t think they’re going to be a major player in how things shape out these next few years.
An assassination here and there will shape things just fine.
Yes, it is perplexing how allegedly educated people seem to believe that.
Sounds like a great time to attempt to kill the Prime Minister . . . .
Of course they do, as long as the US keeps nurturing isis and droning the president.