Parliamentary and popular moves to reduce American mission size in Baghdad

Iraq is witnessing a noticeable escalation in political and factional maneuvers demanding a reduction in the size of the US diplomatic mission in the capital, Baghdad, and the restructuring of its tasks within normal diplomatic frameworks, coinciding with the announcement of the end of the international coalition's mission and the departure of foreign forces from the country according to scheduled timelines. In this context, the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee revealed its intention to submit a legislative proposal obligating the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take urgent action to reduce the number of diplomatic and administrative personnel inside the US embassy compound, affirming that the current numbers far exceed the standards of diplomatic representation recognized between states. Parliamentary entities called for applying the principle of reciprocity and making the staff of the US embassy in Baghdad match the size of Iraqi diplomatic representation in the capital, Washington, stressing that this direction does not aim at all to sever ties with Washington, but rather targets organizing them according to approved diplomatic rules. This proposal is consistent with the demands of Harakat al-Nujaba, which called for treating the US embassy like all other embassies and rejecting its continuation in the form of a massive military and security city, in addition to ending economic and political interventions. In turn, a lawmaker from the Huquq movement confirmed the existence of broad parliamentary and popular efforts aimed at reducing the embassy's area and the number of workers in it, and limiting its activity strictly to the diplomatic aspect away from other security, economic, and political files. Attention is directed toward the US diplomatic compound located in the Green Zone on an area estimated at about forty-two hectares, amid ongoing questions about the feasibility of the mission's size after the end of the coalition's military role. While Washington asserts that its mission undertakes political, economic, security, and consular tasks, critics see that these multiple roles turn the embassy into a major influence platform. For his part, a researcher in political and security affairs believes that limiting work to essential diplomatic crews represents a necessary step to correct the course of bilateral relations, pointing out that the current presence exceeds diplomatic norms to include intelligence and military activities, while affirming at the same time that reducing the mission does not nullify the existence of broad mutual interests between the two countries. In a related matter, the capital witnessed developments linked to the incident of stepping on the US flag during Sovereignty Day events, as the Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces issued immediate directives to form an official investigative committee that resulted in the arrest of a number of perpetrators, amid government affirmation of adherence to laws and diplomatic norms regulating the work of foreign missions in the country.