US troop withdrawal in Iraq casts doubt over security
The withdrawal of US soldiers from Iraq’s Ain al-Asad air base in Anbar province and the Victoria base in Baghdad has sparked worries surrounding the future of Iraq’s security plan, The New Arab reported on September 10th.
The move has brought about uncertainty concerning who will assume the role of the US soldiers and whether Iraq will be overseeing the sites alone.
Ghani al-Ghadhban, an Iraqi political and security analyst, rejected the prospect of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) assuming the role. But he also said: “Though I think it is semi-impossible, but if the [Ain al-Asad] base is handed over to the PMF, they would likely be the target of US and Israeli airstrikes.”
The New Arab
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