Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator
US President Joe Biden is set to lose American military presence in both Iraq and Syria because of his unconditional support of the Israeli genocide committed against the Palestinians in Gaza.
After a long series of US attacks on targets in Iraq, the Iraqi government had asked the US military to leave. Yesterday, US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski handed a letter to Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein which set forth a plan for the two nations to discuss the end of a US-led military coalition in Iraq.
150 attacks have been launched against US troops in Iraq and Syria since the Gaza war began by militants who are aligned with Iran. The attacks are designed to show solidarity with Palestinians, and disgust with the US support of the genocide in Gaza.
Four US personnel suffered injuries after the Ain al-Asad air base was hit by multiple ballistic missiles and rockets in Iraq on Saturday. The Americans have since returned to duty.
"US military forces conducted necessary and proportionate strikes on three facilities used by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia group and other Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack. The group emerged in late 2023 and comprised of various groups in Iraq that have attacked US forces.
The US opposes Iran because Israel sees Iran as their biggest enemy. Iran is committed to the freedom of the Palestinian people who have suffered 75 years of brutal Israeli military occupation and denial of all human rights.
The majority of Iraq is Shite, and the US insisted on overthrowing Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, in favor of installing a US-leaning Shite regime in Baghdad. There were no WMD, and the 2003 US invasion, attack, destruction and occupation of Iraq was carried out for the sole purpose of regime change, a precursor to Libya, Egypt, and Syria.
The US set up a sectarian form of government in Iraq. The Prime Minister must be Shite and the seats in the Parliament are allocated by sects. Iraq has been an ally of both Iran and the US.
The western media, and the US military, refer to the militant groups in Iraq as "Iran-backed militias". A group targeting the US troops is part of the Iraqi national army, and is neither a militia, nor a paramilitary.
The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) is under the command of the Iraqi army and was instrumental in the defeat of ISIS. The US media would have you to believe the US military and its allies defeated ISIS, and in a scene right out of a Hollywood movie like "Rambo". The fact is, ISIS was defeated by Iraq, Syria, Russia, Iran, and the US-led coalition. The PMF killed their share of ISIS terrorists.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the US attacks in Iraq "blatantly" violated his country's sovereignty.
Major General Yehia Rasool, a spokesman for Sudani, said that the US action was "contributing to a reckless escalation".
"This unacceptable act undermines years of co-operation... at a time when the region is already grappling with the danger of expanding conflict, the repercussions of the aggression on Gaza," Rasool added.
He added that Iraq would treat the US operations "as acts of aggression" against its people on their land, and urged the international community to help restore peace.
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