Plans for the future of U.S. security cooperation with Iraq, including the role of U.S. service members on the ground there, are still being discussed by the U.S.-Iraq Higher Military Commission, or HMC, said the Pentagon press secretary.
"The nature of these conversations are focused on transitioning from the global coalition for the enduring defeat of ISIS, the current structure, to what does a longer-term U.S-Iraqi bilateral security relationship look like," said Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder during a meeting today with members of the civilian news media.
"We highly value Iraq as a partner," Ryder said. "They play a very important role in the region when it comes to security and stability, particularly on the counterterrorism front, and, so, we need to allow the HMC the time and space to have those conversations."
The HMC began working group meetings earlier this year to plan how the existing security relationship between the partner nations will transition going forward. It was during the August 2023 U.S.-Iraq Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue that the U.S. and Iraq agreed to convene the HMC.
"As part of the U.S.-Iraq Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue, we established the Higher Military Commission that will look at the transition of the global coalition into a long-term U.S.-Iraq bilateral security cooperation relationship," Ryder said. "Those conversations are ongoing."
Discussions within the HMC are expected to shape the role of U.S. forces in Iraq and the defeat-ISIS mission. In determining how the U.S. role in that mission will change, the HMC will consider the current nature of the threat from ISIS, operational and environmental requirements, and Iraqi security forces’ capability levels.
The U.S. currently has a military presence of about 2,500 personnel in Iraq as part of the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve effort. The mission is to advise, assist and enable partner forces in the defeat of ISIS in designated areas of Iraq and Syria. Inside Iraq, the U.S. works in partnership with both the Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish security forces to carry out that mission.
Ryder also said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III is involved in any discussions concerning U.S. force posture, and HMC outcomes are important in informing decisions by U.S. and Iraqi political leadership.
"The secretary is certainly very engaged on anything when it comes to U.S. force posture around the world," Ryder said. "We value the work that's being done via the Higher Military Commission process. Those conversations inform senior leader decisions, ultimately, which rests at the seat of government ... the president and the Iraqi leadership."