Saairun Alliance MP Alaa al-Rubaie has reiterated his party's rejection of the foreign military presence inside Iraq, noting that the draft law on the removal of foreign troops will be introduced to the parliament in the new legislative term early next month.
Rubaie said that he and other MPs have summoned Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi, who also serves as the country's commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He added that they have also submitted a request for a special session to voice rejection for the presence of foreign troops inside Iraq.
He said that 55 signatures have been gathered to introduce the draft law in the next session, adding that most of the political blocs within the parliament reject the US military presence inside Iraq.
The top Pentagon official assured Iraqi leaders on Tuesday that the US will stick to its limited military role in Iraq, a message aimed at recent talks by some Iraqi politicians of forcing a US troop withdrawal, ABC News reported.
Pat Shanahan, the acting secretary of defense, said that in talks with Prime
Minister Abd al-Mahdi, he stressed US respect for Iraqi sovereignty, an issue
that has become a hot-button topic among Iraqis since President Donald Trump
suggested using Iraq as a base for monitoring neighboring Iran and for
potential attacks against remaining elements of the ISIS group
in Syria.