Biden should not repeat Trump and Obama?s mistakes in Iraq

It has continued to pursue its military and geopolitical interests at the expense of the Iraqi people, their security and wellbeing.This became clear once again at the beginning of this year when, amid a popular uprising against rampant corruption, sectarian politics, political violence, unemployment, and Iranian interference in Iraq, the Trump administration decided to assassinate in Baghdad top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. It has effectively transformed Iraq into a battleground, with devastating consequences for the Iraqi population and its political movement for change.The Trump administration’s behaviour has made it clear that it was after short-term strategic gains for domestic consumption rather than an actual long-term strategy to contain Iranian influence in Iraq, disempower its militias, and help Iraqi military and civilian institutions regain sovereign decision-making.In this regard, again, Trump has only followed in the footsteps of his predecessors. They would like to see the Iranian grip on Iraq relax and a strong Iraqi national state emerge, but their bitter experience with Trump during the protests of 2019-2020 has dampened their hopes that the US can be an effective anti-Iran influence.Biden himself has a mixed record on Iraq as a senator and vice president.