A report by the American newspaper Responsible Statecraft confirmed on Monday that with tensions escalating to new levels between the Israeli entity and the axis of resistance, US President Joe Biden has sent more troops to the Middle East, while some experts are wondering whether the United States will withdraw US forces from Iraq according to the specified timetable.
“It is clear that the United States will not withdraw from Iraq,” the report, translated by Al-Maalomah, quoted an official in the US administration who declined to be identified, as saying. According to the official, the relationship between Iraq and the United States is supposed to move “towards the kind of long-term, fruitful security relationship that the United States has with its partners around the world.” He said.
“I will believe our troops in Iraq are coming out when I see it,” said Defense Priorities Fellow Danny Davis, “because this painfully slow withdrawal schedule is questionable, and gives the administration plenty of opportunity to ‘delay’ it later. These troops are a strategic vulnerability for the United States and should be withdrawn completely, within three months, not two years.”
“It is especially important to consider this vulnerability now, as the risks of regional war in the Middle East are acute, the United States has more important priorities elsewhere and should reduce, not increase, its military footprint in the region,” said Tyler Kotesky, policy director at Concerned Veterans of America.
While experts differ on how the current escalation in the Middle East will affect troop withdrawal plans, it is clear that American soldiers in Iraq and Syria serve no compelling strategic purpose, notes Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Quincy Institute for the Middle East. “The real danger is that American forces will become targets in an escalating cycle of retaliation,” the report notes.
almaalomah.me
