Khalid Al Mousily Reuters
BEIRUT — In a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi asked the United States to send a delegation to Iraq to set up a mechanism for U.S. troop withdrawal from the country, a statement from the prime minister's office said Friday.
The request followed a vote by the Iraqi parliament to expel thousands of U.S. troops, a direct consequence of a U.S. drone attack that killed senior Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and nine companions in Baghdad a week ago.
But in a response Friday, the State Department said that any delegation to Baghdad would not focus on pulling out U.S. troops.
“At this time, any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership — not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.
Ortagus stressed that “America is a force for good in the Middle East” and that the purpose of the U.S. military presence in Iraq is “to continue the fight” against the Islamic State. She did not reference Iraq’s request.
She noted that a NATO delegation is at the State Department on Friday “to discuss increasing NATO’s role in Iraq” in line with President Trump’s “desire for burden sharing.” Ortagus added: “There does, however, need to be a conversation between the U.S. and Iraqi governments not just regarding security, but about our financial, economic, and diplomatic partnership.”
The targeted killing of Soleimani early Jan. 3 set off a string of events in the region. On Tuesday, Iran retaliated for the death of its revered Quds Force commander by launching more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two military bases that house U.S. troops in Iraq. President Trump said the strike caused no American or Iraqi deaths and that new sanctions on Iran will be imposed.
The Iraqi prime minister has repeatedly insisted that U.S. troop withdrawal was the only path toward de-escalation. In the phone call on Thursday, he asked Pompeo “to send representatives to Iraq to put in place a mechanism for implementing the parliament’s decision for the safe withdrawal of forces from Iraq.”
According to a statement, Abdul Mahdi also shared his objections regarding U.S. forces entering Iraq and American aircraft flying in Iraqi airspace without the consent of the Iraqi government.
More than 5,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq under a U.S.-led global coalition set up in 2014 to fight the militant Islamic State group. On Sunday, the 81-country coalition announced it has paused its training activities and is redirecting its resources to ensure the safety of personnel and bases, citing “repeated rocket attacks over the last two months.”
In his phone call with Pompeo, Abdul Mahdi condemned the Iranian missile strikes, saying his country objects to any attack that violates Iraq’s sovereignty and turns the country into a war zone.
The Iraqi prime minister, who announced his resignation in November following anti-government mass protests, is currently working in a caretaker capacity, meaning that the parliamentary vote on Sunday could be interpreted as advisory — a politically significant vote, but not one that is legally binding.
A day after the parliament voted, a U.S. letter further added to the chaos. Sent to the prime minister’s office on Monday by a senior U.S. commander, it said U.S. troops in Iraq were being repositioned and prepared for a possible withdrawal. Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon that the letter was “a mistake,” an unsigned draft that should not have been sent.
On Wednesday, Trump delivered a speech following the Iranian attacks on two military bases in Iraq that house U.S. troops — but he did not mention whether troops would be withdrawing.
“The American people should be extremely grateful and happy no Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime,” Trump said. “We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases.”
Despite a rocket attack Wednesday night on Baghdad’s Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy is located, U.S.-Iranian tensions seemed to have eased somewhat. “Iran seems to be standing down,” Trump said.
He also said he would ask NATO to become “much more involved in the Middle East process.” Following the Iranian attack, NATO began moving troops out of Baghdad’s Green Zone to other locations in Iraq and countries in the region. Germany temporarily moved all its military personnel stationed in non-Kurdish Iraq to Jordan and Kuwait.
Louisa Loveluck in Baghdad contributed to this report.
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2020-01-10 15:32:00Z
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