Under the headline "After the Withdrawal of Forces: This is America's Mission in Iraq," the Al Arabiya website reported that during his meeting with Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed that the role of his forces in Iraq will focus on training assistance, combating ISIS, and providing intelligence support, stating that cooperation to fight terrorism will continue even after the end of the U.S. combat mission there.
On Monday, the U.S. president stated that America's role in Iraq would shift to providing advice and training to Iraqi forces. He also announced that Washington would soon send doses of the coronavirus vaccine to Iraq.
**Enhancing Strategic Partnership**
This followed his confirmation on Twitter, expressing a desire to strengthen the strategic partnership between America and Iraq and to advance bilateral cooperation. President Biden and Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi signed an agreement on Monday that officially ends the American combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021, after more than 18 years of U.S. forces' presence in the country.
The U.S. and Iraqi governments affirmed in the joint final statement of the fourth round of strategic dialogue between Baghdad and Washington their commitment to Iraq's protection of the international coalition's personnel who provide advice and training.
**Intelligence Support**
In return, Al-Kadhimi expressed happiness about the continued cooperation between the two countries, noting that the relations between the states have many healthy, cultural, and other aspects. Biden responded by expressing his anticipation for Iraqi elections, pledging continued intelligence support for Baghdad.
It is noteworthy that currently, there are 2,500 American soldiers in Iraq, focusing on countering the remnants of ISIS, and the American role in Iraq will completely change to focus solely on training and advising the Iraqi military. Biden and Al-Kadhimi met in the Oval Office for their first direct talks as part of the strategic dialogue between the United States and Iraq.
