Iraq Parliament to Discusses Foreign Forces Ouster

The draft plan has already been prepared and handed over to the Security and Defence Commission of the parliament, said an Iraqi lawmaker.

“With the increasing number of foreign forces in Iraq particularly after the US decision to relocate its forces from Syria to the western and northern parts of Iraq and establish further bases there, more and more parliamentarian fractions are inclined towards urging the government to ouster foreign forces including those of the US from our country,” Mohammed al-Baldawi was quoted as saying in a report by Fars news agency.

The lawmaker then underlined that Iraq can’t put up further with the regional and global policies of the US President Donald Trump.

He referred to the resignation of the US Secretary of Defense, James Mattis along with other dramatic changes in the US politics as a sign of further confusion of the US officials in dealing with the regional issues.

Trump made a surprise visit to Iraq and met US military forces there back in December. During his stay in Iraq, he did not hold talks with the Iraqi officials. The move sparked outrage among Iraqi officials and people. This has contributed to the Iraqi lawmakers’ determination to approve the plan to put an end to the US military presence in their country.

Most of the US forces left Iraq back in 2011, but thousands of them still remain in the Arab country. According to the latest figures by the Pentagon, 5200 US forces were present in Iraq till December 2017. They are assigned with what is described by the US as providing logistic support for the Iraqi forces in their fight against terrorism.