In 2008, the United States and Iraq signed the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to end the 5-year conflict. According to the SOFA, the US will withdraw its forces from Iraq and will provide economic aid for the rebuilding of conflict areas. Also, the US will remove sanctions from Iraq and promote peace-building initiatives. However, despite the military withdrawal, Iraq’s structural problems like sectarian division, weak governance, and instability were not resolved because the impacts of war were so great that even a peace treaty could not resolve those issues. Till now, Iraq has been unstable and is facing difficulties in administering the state. 

Like SOFA, the US has signed a Memorandum of Understanding known as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (IMOU). It has 14 points, some of which are similar to the SOFA. It says that the US will withdraw its military and remove all the sanctions from Iran. Also, it says that economic aid of $300 billion will be given to Iran from the Gulf states. Analyzing the historical SOFA, this opinion will let you know about the possible consequences of this memorandum.

Lessons From SOFA for Islamabad MoU

Security Vacuum and the Rise of ISIS

After the SOFA agreement, US forces withdrew in 2011, leaving Iraq in a deteriorated state. Iraq’s government institutions were weak at that time, and there was no clear administration. Although the US trained Iraqi forces, they were still fragmented and were unable to maintain stability in the state. Due to these administrative weaknesses between 2013 and 2014, a terrorist organization known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) emerged and maintained its dominance by exploiting the existing weaknesses. In 2014, they captured Mosul, which caused the collapse of northern Iraq. 

This highlights that military withdrawal after a prolonged........

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