U.S. and Iraqi officials are meeting at the Pentagon to discuss when and how the mission of the global coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq would end and transition in an orderly manner to an enduring bilateral security partnership, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said today. 

The Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue meetings will continue tomorrow and build upon the work of the Higher Military Commission, which grew out of an April meeting between President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Washington. 

“Our convening of this dialogue this week reflects both nations’ commitment to strengthen the bilateral security relationship based on the work of the HMC over the past several months, and in recognition of the upcoming 10-year anniversary of the Global Coalition’s military mission in Iraq,” Ryder said.  

The U.S. delegation at the talks include participants from U.S. Central Command, the Joint Staff, State Department, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and the National Security Council. The Iraqi delegation includes participants from Iraq’s Ministry of Defense and armed forces, the Counterterrorism Service and the Kurdish Peshmerga. 

The press secretary said there will be a readout of the meeting at its conclusion.  

The Higher Military Commission has looked at the state of ISIS operational capabilities, the capacity and the capability of Iraqi security forces to address the ISIS threat, Ryder said. The Joint Security Cooperation Dialogue participants “will take information and recommendations from the HMC and be reviewing those this week with an eye towards looking toward the future of the coalition, but then also the bilateral security cooperation between the U.S. and Iraq,” the general said.

Ryder also said that Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke twice with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the weekend as Israel launched attacks on Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. The Houthis attacked Tel Aviv and killed an Israeli civilian and wounded others. “During their discussion, Secretary Austin acknowledged Israel’s action followed months of Houthi attacks against the State of Israel, and he reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to Israeli security and right to self-defense,” Ryder said.  

The press secretary said Austin received short warning of the Israeli operation and U.S. forces in the region played no role in the attack. 

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