Barham Salih: There is a Public Consensus on the Presence of American Forces in Iraq

Barham Salih, the President of Iraq, emphasized the existence of a "public consensus" regarding the presence of American forces in his country during an interview on Friday. However, he set a condition: that these forces should only assist in the fight against ISIS. In his conversation with the Associated Press on Friday, April 9, Salih also stated that he does not see any "serious opposition" to the presence of American troops in Iraq. Currently, more than 5,000 American forces are present in Iraq, officially tasked with advising and assisting Iraqi forces in the battle against ISIS. According to the Iraqi President, there is a "public consensus" in Iraq that the country needs to cooperate with American forces, and this cooperation can continue "as long as necessary." He stressed that this is conditional on American forces continuing their presence "only" to assist the Iraqi army in fighting ISIS. Salih further noted that the threat from ISIS remains significant, despite the U.S. President's assertion that ISIS has been defeated. In mid-February 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump stated in an interview that one reason for the continued presence of Americans in Iraq is to keep an eye on Iran, as it is a "real issue." The next day, Salih responded that his American counterpart had not sought permission from Iraq for this matter and that the U.S. should not pursue its priorities in Iraq. He also emphasized that American forces are present in Iraq "within the framework of a bilateral agreement for a special mission to combat terrorism and should focus on that mission." With escalating tensions between Iran and the United States, both of which are allies of Iraq, the country finds itself in a very difficult position, especially since the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions against Iran. It appears that the condition Salih reiterated on Friday is meant to reassure those members of the Iraqi parliament who, according to the Associated Press, "mostly have the support of Iran" and are planning to bring a bill for the complete withdrawal of the U.S. from their country to the parliament. Late last year, Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stated that the Islamic Republic had created "one hundred thousand forces from the people" in Iraq and that some Iranian forces had gone to help organize them. The Obama administration withdrew many American troops from Iraq in 2011, but in 2014, it was forced to redeploy U.S. military personnel at the request of the Iraqi government to prevent ISIS from advancing toward Baghdad.