"Iraq First": Baghdad's Roadmap for Redefining National Position and Economic Development

According to Ashura News, citing Middle East News, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani unveiled last Thursday the development of a national security strategy document for the period (2025-2030) under the title "Iraq First" with the aim of strengthening Iraq's security, stability, sovereignty, and prosperity, as well as creating balanced international partnerships.

This is while US President Donald Trump had previously proposed a similar idea called "America First" when he came to power, but perhaps this is just a take on the US President's slogan, behind which lie indigenous goals and urgent needs or a new narrative of self-confidence and independence in a land scarred by years of influence and conflict.

While this plan has been welcomed by some politicians and analysts, others have also raised concerns and criticisms about it.

A look at the goals of the "Iraq First" National Security Strategy

Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani unveiled the national security strategy or new comprehensive document titled "Iraq First" or in other words, "Iraq as a Priority" while this strategy has been formulated for the years 2025 to 2030 with several key goals such as strengthening the security and stability, sovereignty and prosperity of Iraq, some of which can be categorized as follows:

A: Protecting the supreme national interests and the existence of the state

This strategy serves as a fundamental national document to strengthen and activate the system for managing the supreme interests of the country and the Iraqi government, and its main goal, as stated in the text of this strategy, is to protect Iraq against internal and external challenges and changes, secure vital interests, and prepare the necessary requirements to achieve its strategic goals and regional and international relations.

B: Strengthening internal and external security

One of the main pillars of this strategy is the development of Iraq's security and defense system to achieve comprehensive security inside and outside the borders, which can also be considered the fight against terrorist threats and organized crime in the same framework.

The reason why this issue has been so vital for the country of Iraq is that the country has faced major security challenges in recent decades, including terrorist threats, especially from ISIS, so that even if the physical presence of these groups has decreased, their dormant cells are still seeking to rebuild and resume their activities.

Therefore, within the framework of the new security strategy, Baghdad is seeking to dry up the roots of terrorism, the most recent manifestation of which can be seen in the attack by Iraqi forces in cooperation with the coalition on one of the ISIS headquarters, killing "Abdullah Makki", the former ISIS ruler in Iraq and Syria, and arresting "Umm Khadija Checheni", his wife, and a number of other ISIS leaders.

The importance of the counter-terrorism strategy is not in vain: the news of the death of Abdullah Makki Musleh al-Rufai, nicknamed "Abu Khadija", was announced by the Iraqi Prime Minister himself, who emphasized: "Iraqis continue their stunning victories over the forces of darkness and terrorism." Organized crime also includes drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, and other criminal activities that not only disrupt social order, but can also become sources of financing for terrorism, while the new strategy emphasizes combating these crimes and weakening the ability of networks active in this field.

C: Strong, diverse and sustainable economic development

The "Iraq First" strategy emphasizes building a strong, diverse and sustainable economy, which includes reducing dependence on oil, developing non-oil sectors, attracting investment and creating job opportunities for Iraqi youth, as stated in the text of this strategy: Building a strong, diverse and sustainable economy and establishing balanced and efficient regional and international partnerships, along with strengthening social security, protecting diversity and peaceful coexistence, and adopting an efficient service system that is appropriate to the needs of the people, are among its goals.

D: Establishing balanced and efficient regional and international partnerships

Iraq seeks to establish diplomatic relations and partnerships with countries in the region and the world that are based on balance and mutual respect. This paragraph of the Iraqi National Security Strategy (2025-2030) emphasizes the importance of active and intelligent diplomacy in the country's foreign relations, and its main goal is to rebuild and strengthen Iraq's regional and international position by establishing balanced and efficient relations with countries in the region and the world.

One point that should be noted in this strategy is its formulation and follow-up on its implementation, according to the words of Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani - by national elites from all government institutions, including representatives of presidential delegations, security ministries, intelligence agencies, delegations and institutions not affiliated with the ministry, provinces, universities, academic and research institutions, unions and scientific associations, and representatives of the media sectors and non-governmental organizations in Iraq. The Prime Minister himself congratulated them on this achievement and emphasized their greater efforts and insistence on success in this mission to serve the people and the homeland.

In drafting this document, special attention has been paid to the value and semantic load of words, so that, for example, in this paragraph, the use of the words "balanced" and "efficient" in establishing regional and international partnerships means that Iraq does not intend to depend on any of the regional or global power poles, because experiencing this in the past and turning towards a specific bloc has sometimes ended up to the detriment of Iraq's national interests.

Therefore, the new strategy emphasizes maintaining independence of action and developing relations with all parties based on mutual respect, and this approach allows Iraq to better advance its interests at the global level and prevent it from becoming a scene of competition for other powers.

The efficiency of relations can also emphasize the result-oriented nature of Iraq's approach, meaning that the goal is not simply to have diplomatic relations, but rather that these relations must lead to tangible benefits for Iraq.

The importance of adopting this approach for Iraq could be a promise of restoring the country’s regional role after years of war and instability and playing a role as an important and effective player in the region.

In short, the way the wording is chosen in the clauses of the new national security document and strategy indicates a change in the model and paradigm in Iraq’s foreign policy, so that the country can move from a passive or reactive approach to an active, independent and purposeful diplomacy and seek greater contributions to Iraq’s national interests on the international stage.

The importance of strengthening social solidarity among the people, protecting cultural and religious diversity, and ensuring peaceful coexistence among all segments of Iraqi society, including confronting extremism and discrimination, providing efficient services that are in line with the needs of the people, such as education, health, water, electricity and infrastructure, and other basic needs of Iraqi citizens, can be cited as examples of the emphasis on strengthening social security and peaceful coexistence in this document.

E: Protection of Civilizational Heritage and Sacred Sites

Preserving cultural heritage and sacred sites in Iraqi society as part of the country's national identity is an important issue that has received special attention in this document and strategy, as stated in the text of the document: "The common responsibility of all of us requires us to strive to build our homeland and serve its people, develop its respected institutions, and preserve its civilizational heritage and sacred sites so that it ultimately serves all of humanity, because the national vision adopted in this strategy is based on a federal, secure, and fully sovereign Iraq in which justice and equality among citizens prevail to achieve stability and development.

This part of the Iraqi National Security Strategy highlights the protection of cultural heritage and sacred sites as an inseparable part of the country's national identity and introduces it as a vital issue for this country, because Iraq is a land with a history of thousands of years and one of the cradles of human civilization.

The existence of very important holy and religious sites for Muslims, including the shrines of many Shiite imams and other holy sites of other religions, such as various Christian churches, including the Church of the Holy Mary in Baghdad, Jews and their various synagogues, Yazidis, Sabians, etc., attract millions of pilgrims and visitors annually, and religious and cultural tourism has always been one of the ways to earn income and improve the local economy of this country.