NOURNEWS - Bilateral talks between Iraq and the United States, called the Strategic Dialogue, began on Wednesday in the form of a video conference, while the two sides continued to disagree on a common focus on the negotiations.
The talks were chaired by David Hale, the State Department's political deputy, and were attended by several high-ranking diplomats, including David Schinker and Joey Hood, a former US agent in Baghdad and Matthew Tuller, the US ambassador to Iraq.
Abdul Karim Hashem, a former Iraqi diplomat, and Harith Hassan, a senior political expert and researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Loghman al-Fili, Iraq's former ambassador to Washington, Farid Yassin, the current Iraqi ambassador to Washington and Hamed Khalaf were also members of the Iraqi delegation.
According to a resolution passed by the Iraqi parliament on January 5, 2020, the Iraqi government will cancel the request for assistance from the so-called anti-ISIS international coalition, end the presence of foreign troops, and prevent the use of Iraqi airspace for any reason, and the Iraqi government's official complaint to the United Nations and the Security Council against the US military action is obligatory.
These strategic negotiations, however, were proposed at the insistence of the United States with the aim of achieving a low-cost solution for the continued presence of American forces. However, the issue of ending the US military presence in Iraq is a matter that has been approved by the parliamentarians at the request of the people and the authorities.
Accordingly, it seems that the United States is looking for a way to circumvent the Iraqi parliament's resolution after these negotiations. One of the main goals of the talks was Washington's initial insistence that US troops remain on the ground and, if this demand is not met, they will use the issue of negotiations to delay the implementation of the Iraqi parliament's decision to withdraw foreign troops.
Some Iraqi experts say the talks are unilateral and one-sided, and that the US goal is to sign an agreement in Trump's name to use him in the 2020 election campaign, so the Americans will do their best to dictate their views to Iraq during the talks.
On the other hand; Despite US claims that Iraq is seeking independence during the talks, the White House's efforts, as Pompeo acknowledges, are intended to pave the way for Iraq's secession from Iran and greater dependence on the United States.
In this regard, the American network Al-Hurra believes that the focus of these talks is Iraq's commitment to ensuring the security of American diplomats and military in Iraq and reducing Iraq's dependence on Iran in the energy field and increasing Iraq's relations with Arab countries and helping Iraq in the face of the Coronavirus and the future of Iraq's cooperation with the coalition.
On the other hand; According to a joint Baghdad-Washington statement, the United States has pledged to reduce its forces in Iraq in the coming months and not to seek permanent bases or a permanent military presence in Iraq.
Note that; One of the preconditions for political groups in Iraq to agree on the appointment of Mustafa al-Kazemi as prime minister from the outset, was the unequivocal implementation of a parliamentary resolution calling for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
according to this; If Al-Kazemi was under pressure from the Americans and influential elements in Iraq, wanted to slow down or stop the process, it is unlikely that he will lose much of the support of political groups and his authority.
NOURNEWS