Iraq to Adopt Bill Ending US Presence in Country – Lawmakers

Iraqi lawmakers are mulling legislation to terminate the security agreement with the United States, according to the First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Hassan Karim al-Kaabi.

“During the next session, the parliament will work on the bill that would include the end of the security agreement with the United States, as well as the end of the presence of the US and other foreign military trainers and advisers in Iraq”, Kaabi said in a statement released on the parliament website, according to Sputnik.

The statement comes amid US President Donald Trump’s recent comment on the situation in the country. In particular, the US president said that Washington wants to keep its forces in Iraq so that the US could “keep a close eye on Iran”, “because Iran is a real problem,” according to an excerpt from a CBS interview with Trump that will be aired later on Sunday, Sputnik said.

However, the Iraqi deputy speaker went on to slam Trump’s “provocative” statement, saying that it grossly violates Iraq’s sovereignty and constitution.

“All parties need, as soon as possible, to stop the US presence and not allow Iraq to be used as a springboard for aggression or surveillance of any state”, Kaabi stressed.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump reiterated that US forces will withdraw from Syria and Afghanistan, but they will remain in Iraq, SANA reported.

Talking to CBS on Sunday, Trump said that the 2,000 US soldiers deployed in Syria have started to leave, in accordance with the decision he announced in December 2018.

He said that the soldiers who will be withdrawn from Syria will be sent to a US military base in Iraq, and eventually “they will return to the US”.

However, Trump refused to set a date or schedule for this withdrawal, and threatened that the soldiers could return “if necessary.”

H.M