Shafaq News – Baghdad

The head of Iraq’s Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, Karim al-Muhammadawi, on Friday welcomed a decision by the US Congress to repeal the 2003 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq.

Earlier, the Iraqi Embassy in Washington confirmed that the US Congress had approved the repeal of the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for war against Iraq.

The decision, passed by both chambers of Congress, revokes the decades-old legal mandates that had empowered US Presidents George H. W. Bush in 1991 and George W. Bush in 2002 to launch military operations in Iraq without seeking renewed congressional approval.

These authorizations served as the legal basis for the Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, respectively.

In an official statement, al-Muhammadawi described the move as “an explicit acknowledgment of the end of direct military intervention in the country and the restoration of full sovereignty.”

He regarded the repeal as a positive step, though “delayed,” emphasizing that it reinforces long-standing Iraqi efforts to end all forms of foreign intervention.

Al-Muhammadawi stated that the decision aligns with calls from Iraqi national forces for the withdrawal of all foreign troops and the restructuring of international relations based on mutual respect and shared interests.

The committee chair concluded by asserting that Iraq has already begun to fully reclaim its sovereignty and “will no longer allow itself to be a battleground or a sphere of influence for any party.”