Iraq MPs call for timetable for foreign troop pullout
Iraq’s parliament called for the government to draw up a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country in a resolution passed on 1 March, the speaker’s office said.
The speaker’s office said in a statement: ‘The Iraqi parliament expresses its gratitude to all countries which have supported Iraq in its fight against Daesh (the Islamic State group) and calls for the government to draw up a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops.’
Washington in October 2014 forged a 74-country coalition, as well as international organisations such as NATO, to assist Iraqi forces in a fightback against IS which at the time had seized swathes of the country and posed a military threat to Baghdad.
On 5 February, the coalition announced it was ‘adjusting’ its force levels in Iraq downward as it shifted away from combat operations following the jihadists’ expulsion from all Iraqi urban centres.
Brigadier General Jonathan Braga, the coalition’s director of operations, said ‘an appropriate amount of capabilities’ would be kept in Iraq in addition to the forces needed to train, advise and equip the Iraqis.
Such a presence would be coordinated with the Iraqi government, said the coalition, whose main force is made up of 5,000 US soldiers in Iraq.
More from Defence Notes
-
![Orchestrating operational readiness across every defence domain]()
Orchestrating operational readiness across every defence domain
Are all systems ready for the next mission? Have upgrades been applied? Are all assets aligned to deploy together, on time and fully prepared? In modern defence operations, readiness is no longer measured platform by platform. It is measured by how well people, assets, data and decisions move together — across land, sea and air.
-
![How deepening AI usage can boost efficiency and maximise effects for forces]()
How deepening AI usage can boost efficiency and maximise effects for forces
Saab has outlined how it is using artificial intelligence to make training more like electronic gaming, while the UK’s Power Size Technologies is applying the same technology to better evaluate and design vehicle capability, moving AI-enabled innovation further upstream from the frontline.
-
![From systems integrator to multi-domain solutions provider (video)]()
From systems integrator to multi-domain solutions provider (video)
Philipp von Brandenstein, Head of Corporate Communications at Rheinmetall, explains how Eurosatory 2026 marked a new stage in the company's evolution.
-
![US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system]()
US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system
The US Department of Defense has requested new contracting authorities from Congress, using the Army's MV-75 Cheyenne programme to demonstrate how competition, digital engineering and closer industry collaboration could accelerate acquisitions.
-
![US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule]()
US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule
The US government plans to accelerate production even further after achieving key B61-13 milestones months ahead of schedule, as the programme advances amid growing US-China strategic competition.
