General Peshmerga Saddam Hussein's Enemy Is For US Troops To Stay In Iraq If They Don't Want To Be Afghanistan

The Iraqi and US military while conducting joint patrols. (Wikimedia Commons/Army46Q)

JAKARTA - United States troops must remain in Iraq, otherwise the country will be "decomposable" with ISIS terrorists turning it into Afghanistan, a prominent general said.

If US and NATO forces step down, it could lead to much greater, more expensive and more difficult reinteractions later, said Major General Sirwan Barzani of the Peshmerga military.

Extremists, whose strengths in Iraq number around 7,000 fighters, are waiting for western powers to shrink in number, the senior high-ranking officer said.

Despite the war pressure in Ukraine, the current US troop level remains at 2,000 troops stationed at Al Asad Air Base, western Iraq, Camp Kemenangan in Bagdad and near Erbil in the north.

There are also large numbers of 4,000 NATO soldiers training the Iraqi military, but there may be requirements to use them elsewhere, especially if ISIS continues its rise in Africa or Europe to face Russian threats.

Without continued US and NATO support, "all we have achieved is in danger of collapse," General Barzani warned, launching The National News January 27.

"They may have lost territory and the ability to attack the West. But they have not lost the desire to kill. They think the West is disturbed and the United States has fled the Middle East," he explained.

Getting nicknamed the Black Tiger, the general is considered one of the famous Peshmerga leaders who has fought for a decade against Saddam Hussein's forces.

He retired from the army in 2000, but returned in 2014 to a major ISIS attack and personally led 150 people, to defend Erbil, expel terrorists, assisted by US-led airstrikes.

But he is now worried ISIS could return to power. Speaking from northern Iraq, Peshmerga's leader for Erbil, said extremists "used their time out of the spotlight to rebuild and reunite", including recharging their weapons.

There are concerns that in Iraq, America could withdraw its troops as happened in Afghanistan in 2021, with the Taliban group taking control.

The general believes the US troop withdrawal will venture ISIS, making them "more confident they can reunite" in Iraq and Syria.

"If the US vacates the battlefield in Iraq, ISIS will take that opportunity, which risks Iraq becoming another Afghan," the general said.

"Other safe families for them to grow and threaten not only we are Kurdish people, but the world," he said.

During previous ISIS attacks, US warplanes and special forces have helped defeat extremists and remain "important to Iraqi security".

Separately, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, new Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Al Sudani said the western military should remain indefinitely, as "we need foreign troops" because "the elimination of ISIS takes more time".

General Barzani agreed with what the prime minister said, declaring Western support "important for security" Iraq.

"ISIS is a fanatic who will never give up until every fighter is defeated. They will take advantage of every opportunity to rebuild the foothold from where they can continue their terror campaign," he explained.

He further explained, while the western world is focused on war in Ukraine, and at lower levels on the potential threat to China, the focus on ISIS has decreased.

Meanwhile, international terror groups appear to be strengthening in large parts of western, central and southern Africa, including Mozambique, building its strength.

"ISIS uses their hiding places and bases to plan and launch terror attacks against US allies," General Barzani said.

According to him, terrorists remain a "lower threat now", much better at dealing with them today than "the need for greater intervention in the future".

"We need US and Western troops to stay involved. The task is not finished," he added.

This means a "deserved US combat force" on the Iraqi battlefield, to continue operations to find and destroy ISIS fighters.

"Peshmerga also requires the supply of armored vehicles and weapons," he added.

The 52-year-old general added that despite conflicts elsewhere, Western powers must remain focused on the threat of terror to the Middle East.

"ISIS ideology still infects the minds of many people, remaining violent and dangerous threats to people across the Western world," he said.

"As long as there are ISIS fighters who are still operating and in large numbers, they will continue to be threats, and they will continue to inspire more dangerous followers in the West," he concluded.