Marrakesh: “Iraq will continue to need US help to fend off regional predators, even after the deadline for the withdrawal of US forces,” said Barham Saleh, Prime Minister of Kurdistan’s Regional Government, and a former Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq.
He was speaking at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East in Marrakesh, and made clear that Iraq will need either international forces based in the country, or some sort of regional architecture guaranteed by the international community.
Saleh spoke with some authority on the issue of foreign forces in Iraq, as he was part of the Iraqi government’s negotiating team for the State of Forces Agreement, SOFA, and the Strategic Framework Agreement, the two instruments which define the relationship between Iraq and the USA.
Saleh was hopeful that a new Iraqi government might be formed in the near future, and condemned the parties for failing to agree on a new government seven months after the general election. “Despite the tension the Iraqi people went to the polls, and they deserve better,” he said, commenting that the continuing bilateral contacts between all the parties needs to move to a multi-lateral discussion.
“The present situation has forced economic development to be suspended. Private investors are waiting to see if Iraq will get a decent and stable government,” he said, commenting on the economic damage that the political stalemate is causing.
