US Dream of Enjoying Security in Iraq Will Never Come True, Iraqi Resistance Warns

The Iraqi Resistance Coordination Commission (IRCC) has said the United States is not serious about leaving the Arab country, stressing that the American dream that its troops will be at peace in Iraq is a mere “illusion” that will never come true.

“It becomes clearer to us every day that the occupying forces of the United States are not serious in fulfilling the demand of our dear nation to implement the Iraqi parliament’s bill regarding their withdrawal,” the IRCC said in a statement on Tuesday.

It was making a reference to a bill that was passed into law on January 3, 2020 by the Iraqi parliament requiring the Iraqi government to end the presence of the US-led foreign forces in the country.

The bill came two days after the US assassination of Iran’s top anti-terror commander, Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, near the Baghdad International Airport. Soleimani’s companions, including the deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, were also martyred in the operation.

The statement said the Iraqi resistance groups have waited so far so as to give yet another chance to the American forces to leave the country as demanded by the law.

It called on the government to fulfill its duty of expelling the occupying forces from Iraq, but added that it seems the US insists on maintaining its occupying troops in the Arab country.

The US, according to the statement, intends to retain its forces in the current bases and also take control of Iraqi airspace in order to spy on areas that are bereft of the Daesh terrorists.

“The US dream that its occupying soldiers will feel at ease and that their bases will be in peace and stability in Iraq is an illusion that will never come true,” the IRCC added.

‘All bases must be handed over to Iraqi Army’

Meanwhile, the secretary general of the Badr Organization also reiterated the call to fully expel foreign combat forces from Iraq by the end of 2021.

Hadi al-Amiri said all bases in which foreign troops were active must be handed over to the Iraqi army by the end of the current year.

He said the need for any presence of trainers and advisers will be determined by the senior Iraqi military commanders with a reason.

“The entry and exit of advisers, technical forces, and trainers must be done in accordance with the law and with respect for the Iraqi government,” al-Amiri, who is also the leader of the Fatah Alliance (Conquest Alliance) political coalition, maintained.

Since the Soleimani assassination, Iraqi resistance forces have ramped up pressure on the US military to leave their country, targeting American bases and forces on numerous occasions, and at one point pushing the Americans to ask them to “just leave us alone.”

Earlier this year, Baghdad and Washington reached an agreement on ending the presence of all US combat troops in Iraq by the end of the year.

The US military declared the end of its combat mission in Iraq this month, but resistance forces remain bent on expelling all American forces, including those who have stayed in the country on the pretext of training Iraqi forces or playing an advisory role.

400 events scheduled for assassination anniv.

The head of the PMU’s public relations said 400 cultural and social events have been scheduled for the second martyrdom anniversary of Soleimani and Muhandis across Iraq.

“These programs to commemorate the two martyrs will start today from the memorial of the martyrs in Baghdad to al-Tahrir Square,” Muhannad al-Uqabi said on Wednesday.

He explained that the events have been organized by official and unofficial institutions as well as universities.

He then called on different strata of the Iraqi society to partake in the huge rallies which will be held on January 1 with the intention of voicing their loyalty to the blood of the martyrs and condemning their terrorist act.

Uqabi called January 5 the day of Iraq’s sovereignty, during which the Iraqi parliament decided to expel the American troops.

He also called on the Iraqi government to honor the martyrs and their role in eliminating international terrorism, which has targeted Iraq and is threatening the countries of the region, urging the government to designate January 3 as a national holiday in the Iraqi calendar.

Source: Press TV