The United States and Iraq have reached a preliminary agreement for the full withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq by the end of 2026, Reuters reported on Friday, amid continued attacks by Iran-backed militants against American troops.
This withdrawal would mark a significant shift in Washington’s military posture, though US officials acknowledge that their presence in Iraq serves not only to counter the Islamic State but also to monitor Iranian influence in the region.
The phased exit is seen as politically beneficial for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, as it aligns with Iraq’s balancing act between the US and Iran while addressing ongoing instability. However, it might also signal a victory for Iran and its proxies in the Arab country which have long been pushing for the full withdrawal of US and coalition forces from both Iraq and Syria.
It’s more-or-less geographic destiny that Iran and Turkey will become the dominant powers in Western Asia.
They both basically ruled the area for most of history.
The best we (the West) could do is nudge them towards human rights and peace and friendship. For Turkey, that’s mostly a done deal.
For Iran, that was exactly what Obama tried to do. And it’s also what Iran has been trying to get for the past 25 years.
Iran is inherently on a path towards secularisation and more dovish policies. It’s the threat of war by the US and Israel that keeps the defense hawks in power.
Iran, especially, will never fully trust the USA - and for good reason. But they do want better relations with the USA. They just don’t want to get burned or bombed.
I get that but you dont understand what the Iranians have done to Iraq. Iraqi domestic industry is almost nonexistant due to flooding of cheap goods from Iran, and Iraqi businesses are often sabotaged by pro iran militias. This type of warfare seeks to make Iraq fully dependant on Iran, something that Saddam, the sadistic fucker that he is, was able to stave off.
The only country that can be blamed for destroying Iraqi industry is the USA. Two decades of war, one decade of sanctions and another decade of war (by Saddam against Iran) sponsored by the USA in the 1980s.
Obviously, Iranian industry will outcompete Iraqi industry at this point in history.
Iraq needs to rebuild and they need outside help.
I’m not gonna defend Iranian war mongering. And neither will I defend Turkish war mongering, or IS, USA or Israeli war mongering.
But the only path forward for Iraq is by making peace with the two power brokers in the region: Turkey and Iran.
And that’s what the current government is trying to achieve. The Turkey-Iraq corridor and the new port they are building are going to lay the foundation for their future prosperity.
As for Iran, Iran is desperate for allies. It won’t be that difficult to find some mutually beneficial relationship with them.