Sources familiar with the matter have revealed that the process, which began last year but was put on the back burner at the onset of the war between Israel and Hamas, is back on track, though it will be months if not years before an agreement is reached and troops begin packing up.
According to Reuters, on Wednesday US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski delivered a letter to Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein in which the American government expressed its desire to move forward with negotiations.
"The US and Iraq are close to agreement on starting the Higher Military Commission dialogue that was announced back in August," an American official stated, per the outlet.
They explained that the commission would help evaluate Iraq's ability to fight ISIS and "shape the nature of the bilateral security relationship."
The 2,500 American troops in Iraq have become the target of Iranian-backed attacks from local militant groups, and while the US originally said such incidents would have to stop before any negotiations were made, Washington appears to have done away with that precondition.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani also cited the increasing number of attacks on US troops in his nation as a reason why a deal should be reached as soon as possible.
