Washington, United States – According to last year’s agreement, the United States is scheduled to retain some forces in the Kurdistan region for an additional year. They will continue the mission of combating ISIS.
This is a month before the deadline for the withdrawal of US forces from areas controlled by the Iraqi government.
While a source confirmed that the US military and senior employees in the Ministry of Defense do not want this withdrawal.
The source quoted senior officials as saying, “Their estimates indicate that Iraq is unstable.”
However, this does not mean that the current situation in Iraq is witnessing turmoil.
As much as it means that the country is exposed to a lot of pressure now and in the coming months. This makes the situation unstable.
“The situation is unstable”
In addition, US military agencies, as well as US intelligence agencies and planning officials, consider Iraq vulnerable to unrest. This is due to the internal situation.
ISIS is still trying to operate on the ground. Additionally, there are militias operating under foreign political influences such as Iranian influence.
The situation is also unstable between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan region.
The Americans also point to the effects of the situation in Syria. The new Syrian government is still in a transitional phase.
There are also security and political problems in southern and northeastern Syria.
What makes matters more complicated in the north is the Turkish anti-Kurdish role. Additionally, the SDF organization is involved, which Ankara describes as terrorist.
The withdrawal decision has not changed
Perhaps ironically, the Iraqi government referred to these risks, especially those arising in Syria, during its engagement with the US administration.
The American military, in addition to the intelligence services, agree with this “Iraqi” assessment. However, the political decision regarding withdrawal has not changed.
In this context, an official in the US Department of Defense, the Pentagon, said: “We are committed, as we previously announced, to ending the military coalition’s mission inside Iraq by September 2025.
He stressed, “We will continue to support efforts to defeat ISIS in Syria from bases in Iraq until September 2026”.
