Always more resistant to open-ended foreign military presence than the nation’s executive branch, Iraq’s parliament has revealed a series of plans to start “reviewing” the US military presence. This is focused in particular on a timetable for the US pullout.
Iraq MP Ahmad al-Assadi said he expects the calls for a US withdrawal to at least double during the new parliament’s term, and that most are only prepared to accept the trainers and advisors described as filling a specific need.
This is to start with a review of the scale of the US presence, the needs of the Iraqi security forces, and the existing timetable. With ISIS effectively defeated in Iraq, most seem to lean toward needing few, if any, US troops at this point.
While the US appears to have no intention of leaving, it should be noted that the last US occupation of Iraq, started in 2003, also faced calls for a pullout that originated in the parliament, and while the US never fully left Iraq, parliament was able to force a dramatic drawdown.
