The U.S. has had a military presence in Iraq for decades, and there are currently about 2,500 American troops in Iraq. However, Iraq has begun the process to kick the U.S. military out of the country, according to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
The U.S. has been in Iraq to keep a handle on terrorist activity in the Middle East. ISIS is still a regional threat, and it is responsible for an attack that killed nearly 100 people in Iran last week.
Al-Sudani wants to evict the U.S. from its territory after the U.S. took out a militia leader in an airstrike last week in Baghdad. The target was Mushtaq Taleb Al-Saidi, the head of the Iranian-backed Harakat-Hezbollah.
Calls for the removal of the U.S. came before news Monday, Jan. 8, of a Hezbollah top senior official being taken out by Israel. This move has further infuriated Iraq, Iran and its proxy groups all aligned against Israel and the U.S. for taking Israel’s side.
While Iraq is in cahoots with many of Iran’s proxy groups, Iraq and the U.S. are partners against a common enemy in ISIS. In Iraq’s decision to remove U.S. troops or not, it will weigh which is more important: a united front with the U.S. against the Islamic State or removing the U.S. from the region.
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