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1 1 (September 29, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdbzq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF.$ Updated September 29, 2020 Iraq and U.S. Policy N;Yr F* t acirng In May 2020, Iraq's parliament confirmed Iraqi National Intelligence Service director Mustafa al Kadhimi as Prime Minister, and in June finished confirmation of his cabinet members, bringing months of political deadlock over government leadership to a close. Upon taking office, Al Kadhimi declared that his government would serve in a transitional capacity and would work to improve security and fight corruption while preparing for early elections. Iraqi authorities have instituted curfews and travel restrictions in response to the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which threatens public health, the economy, and public finances. Prime Minister Al Kadhimi's priorities include: * mobilizing resources to fight the COVID-19 pandemic; * restricting weapons to state and military institutions; * addressing what he calls the worst economic situation since the formation of the Iraqi state; and * protecting the sovereignty and security of Iraq, continuing to fight terrorism, and providing a national vision on the future of foreign forces in Iraq. Al Kadhimi has called for early elections in June 2021 under a revamped electoral system, but fiscal pressures, political rivalries, and limited institutional capacity present serious hurdles to reform. A series of high profile assassinations in 2020 of protest leaders and of a prominent security researcher have intensified public scrutiny of Al Kadhimi's credibility and his government's ability to act against armed groups operating outside state authority. Ongoing rocket and improvised explosive device (TED) attacks against U.S. and Iraqi facilities and convoys further underscore these concerns. Islamic State insurgents also remain active, especially in rural areas. To date, Al Kadhimi's administration has focused on COVID-19 risks and responding to related economic and fiscal fallout. The Prime Minister visited the United States in August 2020 for strategic dialogue talks. Throughout September 2020, resurgent reform demands from Iraqi activists and U.S. pressure for action against Iran-backed armed groups dominated the policy agenda in Iraq, as COVID-19 infection rates continued to rise. Al Kadhimi's predecessor, Adel Abd Al Mahdi, resigned in November 2019, after just over a year in office and following deadly attacks by some security forces and militias that killed hundreds of protestors and wounded thousands across central and southern Iraq. Abd Al Mahdi served in a caretaker role while political blocs grappled over identifying his replacement. A spirited protest movement, of unprecedented scope in Iraq's post-2003 history, had erupted in October 2019 and mobilized hundreds of thousands seeking systemic change. Protests subsided in early 2020 amid COVID-19 mitigation measures, but protestors' demands for reform and an end to corruption and foreign interference remain unsatisfied. As protests intensified in late 2019, the parliament (Council of Representatives, COR) adopted a new election law to replace Iraq's list-based electoral system with an individual candidate- and district-based system. As of September 2020, leaders had not taken required steps to finalize the law. Some voting systems experts warned that the proposed system changes alone would not ensure implementation of governance improvements that protestors seek. Authorities are likely to avoid electoral arrangements that could require a controversial census given intermittent unrest, security disruptions, and unprecedented public health threats. Figure I. Iraq t R A Q i:i i i : -:: : .. .. . : ) .. ....... .:: ; )::::i:i::i:: :i::: :.; i< ,,S, : ':::di. . , . S!.!:¢jId d ... K: ii:' - -.-, .... ...... . ......... . ,'., ! :.S Sources: CRS, using ESRI and U.S. State Department data. hrnU .Tnkn Grip U.S.-Iran confrontation also has continued to amplify underlying disputes among Iraqis over government leadership and Iraq's international orientation and security partnerships. Following escalating Iran-linked threats in 2018 and 2019, a January 2020 U.S. air strike in Iraq killed Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force Commander General Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) leader Abu Mahdi al Muhandis. Iran launched missiles at Iraqi bases hosting U.S. forces in retaliation for the U.S. strike, injuring U.S. personnel. In addition, the COR voted to direct then-acting Prime Minister Abd Al Mahdi to remove foreign forces from Iraq, but he deferred pending the seating of the new government. The U.S. operation eliminated key figures in Iran's efforts to shape Iraqi security and politics, but also led to the

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