The US Ambassador says the Islamic State is still a threat in Iraq
"Tracey Jacobson, the new US Ambassador to Iraq, is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service class of Career Minister and currently serves as a Senior Advisor in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. She recently served as Charge d’Affaires a.i. at the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Over the course of her distinguished career, she has served as US ambassador on three occasions—to Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kosovo—and as Deputy Ambassador at the US Embassy in Riga, Latvia."
In an interview with Reuters, United States Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski said the Islamic State still poses a threat in Iraq and the coalition's work with Iraq is not complete.
Despite its affiliates continuing to carry out attacks elsewhere, Iraqi politicians, including Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, have repeatedly said the group no longer poses a threat in Iraq.
While ISIS (Islamic State) remains a threat here, it has significantly diminished. Our work isn't done, and we must ensure that Iraqi forces can continue to defeat ISIS," Romanowski said at the US embassy in Baghdad.
ISIS-K, the Afghan branch of Islamic State, claimed responsibility for Friday's attack at a rock concert near Moscow that killed 137 people.
In an additional comment after the interview, she explained that ISIS is a common terrorist enemy that must be defeated everywhere.
As a result, the United States and Iraq share a commitment to defeating ISIS forever, including creating a strong bilateral security partnership between the two countries. A suicide bombing carried out by ISIS-K in Afghanistan last week killed at least three people, and an Iranian suicide bombing in January was also claimed by it. Iran shares a 1,600 km (994 miles) border with Iraq.
The Iraqi prime minister will meet US President Joe Biden on April 15 to discuss the future of the coalition, Iraqi financial reforms, and a US effort to wean Iraq off Iranian power and gas.
Western officials say US and its allies see the coalition's presence in Iraq as a check on Iranian influence in addition to advising and assisting Iraqi forces in fighting the Islamic State.
To wind down the coalition's work, Romanowski said, referring to talks between Washington and Baghdad initiated in January amid tit-for-tat attacks between Iran-backed Shi'ite Muslim armed groups and US forces.
Iraq was invaded by US troops in 2003, and Saddam Hussein was overthrown. The US withdrew in 2011 but returned in 2014 to fight Islamic State as part of an international coalition.
Baghdad has argued that the coalition's mission has ended since Islamic State was declared territorially defeated in 2017.
Previously, we have left quickly only to return, or only to continue, so this time I would argue that we need to proceed in an orderly manner.
She said the mission's outcome would depend on Iraqi security forces' capabilities, the operational environment, and the threat posed by the IS.
US efforts in Iraq go beyond security to reduce its dependence on Iranian energy and push its banking sector towards global standards.
"Most Iraqis don't trust the banking system here, and they have good reasons to do so," Romanowski said, despite a 40% increase in total deposits in the last two years showing signs of improvement.
"That's one area where, with the prime minister's support, we'll do what we can... and yes, it will hurt."
