NOURNEWS- On April 26, 2020, the US government invited contractors capable of designing and building aircraft jets at the Al-Harir military base near the Iraqi Kurdistan region of Erbil. Al-Harir military base is located 75 km east of Erbil and 115 km from the Iranian border, and is the closest US military base to the Islamic Republic of Iran's border.
The base is equipped with defense systems, attack fighters, advanced radars and American eavesdropping systems. Although helicopters from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are also stationed at the al-Harir base, the development of the runway shows that the United States is trying to create new capabilities at the base to increase the mobility of its aircraft.
The US move to build new infrastructure at the base is actually neglecting of the Iraqi parliament's legal decision to withdraw foreign troops from the country, reflecting Washington's decision to maintain a long-term military presence in Iraq.
Recently, the US military, under the pretext of increasing the security of its military forces in Iraq, creating an unprecedented air and security cover, Evacuated and handed over Al-Qayara, Al-Habaniya, K-1, Abu Ghoraib, Al-Qaiem and some other bases in Ninawa province to the Iraqi army.
Although the US military has indirectly tried to link the moves to its intention to withdraw from Iraq, reports indicate that all troops and equipment evacuated from other bases have been sent and relocated to Ein Al-Assad bases in Al-Anbar and Al-Harir in Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
In another move, along with tactical moves, the US military, despite opposition from the Iraqi government, moved Patriot defense systems and two short-range missile systems to Iraq and deployed them at Ein Al-Assad air bases and the Erbil military base.
The simultaneous escalation of terrorist attacks, especially by ISIS elements in various Iraqi provinces, has heightened suspicions that Washington is trying to destabilize Iraq and use it as an excuse to circumvent the parliamentary resolution and maintain its presence in Iraq.
Iraqi resistance groups recently issued a joint statement stressing the need to implement a law passed by the Iraqi parliament, calling for the continued US military presence in Iraq as an occupation and threatening to crack down on it.
NOURNEWS