Washington and Baghdad are negotiating a long-term US presence in Iraq
(Brought in from Charles Bright from the Facebook Group)



Washington and Baghdad are negotiating a long-term US presence in Iraq


The United States and Iraq have recently intensified their talks to keep a section of US troops permanently in the country following the expulsion of armed militants.

Both countries want to avoid repeating what happened in 2011, when US forces withdrew from Iraq after they successfully curbed al-Qaeda’s threat and reduced violence in the country. But three years after that withdrawal, the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of the march of armed militants.
According to US officials, who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly, the United States and Iraq have yet to decide on the size and composition of the force that would remain, which could change over time.

The two officials said no decision had yet been made on a long-term presence, and that the composition of the force to be agreed upon would be determined by the Iraqi government.
“What is happening now is similar to what we were looking for after 2011,” said James Jeffrey, a former US ambassador to Iraq who is close to the issue in an interview with USA Today.
The US newspaper says it is not clear whether the United States will be able to avoid some of the political obstacles in Baghdad that have derailed the agreement to keep troops in 2011, and that Iran, which opposes the presence of US troops in the country, has strong political influence in Iraq.

“The big problem is that if there is pressure from the Iranians to leave the United States from Iraq,” Jeffrey said.