Washington and Baghdad Launch Talks on US Troop Withdrawal from Iraq

(Patria) - The United States and Iraq are ready to begin negotiations on ending the US-led international military coalition in Iraq and how to replace it with bilateral relations, say four sources, Reuters reported.

The US conveyed this message in a letter that US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski handed to Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Wednesday, three sources said. In doing so, the US abandoned the prerequisite that attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi militant groups in Iraq must stop first, three sources said.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced that an "important" letter was delivered and that the prime minister would study it carefully, without further details. The talks are expected to last several months, if not longer, with an uncertain outcome and an inevitable withdrawal of US troops.

The United States has 2,500 soldiers in Iraq, advising and assisting local forces to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large parts of Iraq and Syria before being defeated. Hundreds of soldiers from other mostly European countries are also in Iraq as part of the US-led coalition. The presence of this mission in Iraq is under increasing pressure.

Iraq, a rare ally of both Tehran and Washington, has witnessed an escalation of attacks between militias and US forces since the war in Gaza began, with militias trying to pressure the US over its support for Israel. US troops in Iraq and Syria have been attacked about 150 times by pro-Iranian militias, and the US has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes, the latest on Tuesday.

The escalation of violence has led Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to call for the rapid withdrawal of US-led coalition forces through negotiations, a process that began to be initiated last year but was halted when the war in Gaza began.

Washington was unwilling to negotiate a potential withdrawal while under fire, concerned that any change in mission would appear forced, thereby encouraging regional rivals, including Iran. But the calculus has changed amid the realization that the attacks are unlikely to stop and that the status quo leads to escalation, two sources said.

"The US and Iraq are close to an agreement to start the High Military Commission dialogue that was announced back in August," a US official said. They said the commission would allow for a joint assessment of the Iraqi security forces' capabilities to fight the Islamic State and "shape the nature of bilateral security relations".

"We have been discussing this for months. The timing is not tied to recent attacks. The US will retain full rights to self-defense during the negotiations," the official said.

The attacks were led by powerful Iraqi militias closely linked to Iran, most of which do not have representatives in parliament or the government, but still influence decision-making.
Iraqi and US officials hope that the formal launch of negotiations could have the effect of reducing political pressure on al-Sudani's government and potentially reducing attacks on US forces.