Iraq-US strategic dialogue divides anti-US groups in Iraq
The recent strategic dialogue talks between Iraq and the United States have divided anti-US groups in Iraq, as some welcome the results of the dialogue and others reject it and ask for full US withdrawal from Iraq.
![US President Joe Biden (R) hosts Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi for a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House, Washington, July 26, 2021.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/2021-07/GettyImages-1330777333.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=pMRiDOcX)
After a series of talks between Iraq and the United States, the two parties agreed during Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's visit to the United States to end the presence of US combat forces in Iraq by Dec. 31, 2021, at which time “the security relationship will fully transition to a training, advising, assisting, and intelligence-sharing role,” according to the July 26 joint statement on the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue.
Upon his return to Baghdad from Washington, Kadhimi was welcomed by various political and security figures — including the head of Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Falih Fayyadh — in a sign that the results of the strategic dialogue between Iraq and the United States have been widely accepted by different Iraqi groups.