Alwaght- In the short time since the US President Donald Trump appointed a special envoy for Iraq, Mark Sawaya has been actively engaged in his mission drawing on unofficial diplomacy. This was noticeable in his several visits to various Iraqi cities and meetings with senior Iraqi officials.
These moves, timed on the eve of Iraq’s parliamentary elections, reveal the strategic underpinnings of Sawaya’s mission, showing that his activities go beyond official framework and are aimed at swaying political developments in the country.
The mission for reconciliation with Iraq's Sunnis
Today, given the importance of gaining influence and credibility among the public opinion of countries as one of the main goals of the countries in the foreign policy, especially through public diplomacy, Sawaya since the outset has focused on this aim to mend the American image and place among the Iraqi people through establishing close contacts with the Iraqi society's various ethnic and religious segments.
In one of his first moves, Sawaya recently traveled to the city of Mosul. He flooded social media with images of himself meeting residents under the banner of "public diplomacy," portraying himself to locals as a benevolent force for the city's development by hailing Mosul as a historic leader in science and culture.
In his initial X post from the trip, Sawaya declared: “With great pride and joy, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the people of Nineveh for signing a historic memorandum with the United States to establish an international research center in the heart of Mosul, a city reclaiming its rightful place on the global stage.” He added that the agreement “provides strong impetus to bolster joint cooperation, elevate Mosul among leading cities, and chart a prosperous, developed future for generations to come... This constructive step provides a strong motivation for strengthening cooperation, upgrading Mosul among the leasing cities, and drawing a flourished and developed future for the generations to come.
This comes as Iraq’s Director General of Conservation and Restoration at the Ministry of Culture of Iraq recently announced plans to build an ancient-style city in Mosul, a project through which Sawaya is also seeking to align himself with Iraq’s rich civilizational heritage. By tapping into the country’s historical identity, the US envoy aims to present himself as a figure attuned to Iraq’s national and cultural values.
Sawaya’s broader mission, however, goes beyond culture. He is working to soften the deep-seated distrust and negative perceptions that Iraq’s Sunni Arabs have harbored toward the US since the occupation. Although Sunnis, like Kurds and Shiites, hold defined positions within Iraq’s political and security structures, the prevailing sentiment among them remains that post-2003 developments have largely worked against their interests. Low Sunni voter turnout in successive parliamentary elections underscores this disillusionment with the political process.
Under Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime, Sunnis enjoyed a privileged position, and many tribal leaders continue to blame Washington for their community’s current situation. Against this backdrop, Sawaya’s mission in Iraq is to rebuild Sunni trust and align them with US policies, a strategy aimed at reinforcing American influence in the country’s political and social spheres and reshaping Iraq’s power balance in favor of Washington’s strategic objectives.
Influence among Baghdad officials
In most countries, political influence is gained through engagement with those in power, and Mark Sawaya seems to understand that well. The US envoy has been working to win over Iraq’s political elite in Baghdad.
Ahead of Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections, Sawaya met with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. In a video from the meeting, al-Sudani congratulates Sawaya on his birthday, calls him a “good son,” and wishes him success, a moment that quickly made the rounds online. The clip, filmed and shared by Sawaya himself, appeared carefully staged to highlight his friendly ties with Iraqi leaders and to cast him as a well-meaning figure invested in Iraq’s welfare.
Through such highly publicized encounters, the American envoy is trying to project an image of close cooperation between Baghdad and Washington, an effort clearly aimed at telling the Iraqis that just contrary to the narrative of the resistance groups, the US favors stability in Iraq.
Sawaya, who once echoed Donald Trump’s campaign slogan by promising to “make Iraq great again,” now faces growing scrutiny. Behind the populist rhetoric, critics warn, lies a set of far-reaching US plans designed to weaken Iraq’s political institutions and sovereignty.
These maneuvers underscore how the US is once again drawing on diplomatic and media tools to tighten its grip on Iraq’s political and security landscape, steering key developments to serve its strategic interests.
Additionally, by controlling the political factions in Iraq, Washington can put American-aligned figures in key posts and advance the economic and security projects with least resistance from Baghdad.
In a more blatant move, Sawaya has gone so far as to urge that the next Iraqi cabinet’s top positions and ministries be filled with Washington’s approval, a step seen by many as part of US’s broader plan to cement its geopolitical dominance in Iraq and the wider region.
Historically, when Washington appoints special envoys to certain countries, it is rarely about fostering genuine partnership. Such appointments often mark the start of efforts to destabilize or reshape those nations’ political and security orders, something allowing the US to entrench its influence in key institutions, sideline opposing forces, and redirect domestic policy in line with its own strategic agenda and interests.
Dissolving resistance groups
Another aim behind Trump's appointment of special envoy to Iraq is countering the growing influence of resistance groups and checking their role in Iraq's politics and security. Washington thinks that the groups with deep bonds with Iran and the Axis of Resistance pose the biggest obstacle to realization of the US strategic agenda in Iraq and the region. So, on the eve of the parliamentary elections, Sawaya’s mission goes beyond tradition diplomacy and he wants to, in association with Washington-aligned Iraqi parties and figures, curb the influence of the resistance groups and steer Baghdad to alignment with the American policies.
Washington is acutely aware that any attempt to establish political, economic, and security dominance over Iraq will fail so long as the resistance groups retain their significant power.
Recognizing that these factions have gained considerable influence within Iraq's security and political structures over the past decade, Washington is now striving by any means necessary to sideline the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) from the circles of power to implement its own strategic objectives in the country.
In recent months, through obstructing the passage of the PMF-related bill in parliament, sanctioning certain resistance factions, and threatening imminent Israeli strikes on their positions within Iraq, the US has made its opposition to the continued political and military activities of these groups unequivocally clear.
Checking Chinese and Russian foothold in Iraq's oil and gas
Sawaya’s Iraq presence does not have only political and security aspects, but also it has an economic dimension. Given the remarks of Trump at the Sharm El-Sheikh summit last month who said "Iraq has so much oil. They don't know what to do with it", we can clearly see what Sawaya’s mission is in the economic aspect.
The main mission of Sawaya in this area is preventing China and Russia from expanding their outreach in the Iraqi oil and gas sectors which are central to the strategic interests of the big powers. The special envoy's presence allows the US to bypass formal diplomatic channels and directly influence Iraq's economic and energy decisions. This role is instrumental in paving the way for new contracts between American companies and Iraq.
This economic agenda also provides a framework for understanding the previously signed agreements between US companies and the Kurdistan Regional Government. These contracts, which focus on production and export of oil and gas, are part of a comprehensive strategy to control Iraq's energy value chain and reduce its reliance on global competitors.
From viewpoint of the analysts, Sawaya's mission represents the fusion of US security and economic policy in Iraq. The dual objective is to curb the regional influence of global rivals while securing Washington's core energy and geopolitical interests.
Composing post-election coalitions
Having in mind that these days Iraq is to hold one of most decisive parliamentary elections, Sawaya is seeking to influence the vote in favor of Washington’s strategic interests and goals. In addition to sending Washington's pawns to the participants, Sawaya is seeking to shape and manage the post-election coalitions as they would play a key role in electing the prime minister and president.
With Shiite Coordination Framework (SCF) having had the leading role since last election, Sawaya has a mission to undermine this coalition and simultaneously empower Kurdish and Sunni factions to ensure that Washington-aligned figures will occupy key posts and lead the major economic and political decisions in line with the US interests. These actions are a prime example of Washington's direct interference in Iraq's internal affairs and a clear attempt to redefine the balance of power within the country and cement American influence over Baghdad's political and executive mechanism.
