US-Iraq ties enter post-security era as Washington shifts focus to investment
Shafaq News- Washington/ Baghdad
US-Iraq relations are entering a new phase centered more on investment and economic cooperation than security, participants at “Iraq Dialogue Day” in Washington said on Wednesday, as Baghdad and Washington reassess ties amid the gradual reduction of the US military presence in Iraq.
Speaking at the opening session hosted by the Atlantic Council, Victoria Taylor, director of the institute’s Iraq Program, said the approaching end of the Global Coalition mission marks a major turning point in bilateral relations. “For the past 20 years, security has been the foundation of the relationship, but current realities require a different approach,” Taylor added.
She argued that the current US administration’s emphasis on economic deals creates an opportunity to deepen cooperation in business and investment, while warning that political engagement between the two countries has noticeably declined.
“We are no longer in the period when the US president would hold weekly calls with Iraqi leaders or candidates,” she remarked, urging Iraqi delegations to intensify visits to Washington to better communicate Iraqi priorities and understand shifting American policy interests.
Former Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the stagnation in bilateral relations was not caused by a lack of legal frameworks, but by “weak political will” in successive Iraqi governments.
Read more: The US exits Iraq: A withdrawal heralds a sovereign future
Zebari defended the Strategic Framework Agreement, which he helped negotiate, describing it as a deal that could have given Iraq advantages “envied by countries in the region” had it been fully implemented. He attributed the failure to activate many of its provisions to “negligence and lack of interest” by previous administrations.
According to Zebari, the current US administration appears more direct and serious in dealing with unresolved Iraqi issues, adding that officials in Baghdad have begun to recognize Washington’s determination despite a “sometimes transactional approach.”
For Shafaq News, Mostafa Hashem, Washington D.C.
