Iraq\u2019s caretaker prime minister asked Washington to work out a road map for an American troop withdrawal, but the U.S. State Department on Friday bluntly rejected the request, saying the two sides should instead talk about how to \u201crecommit\u201d to their partnership.<\/p>\n
Thousands of anti-government protesters turned out in the capital and southern Iraq, many calling on both Iran and America to leave Iraq, reflecting their anger and frustration over the two rivals-both allies of Baghdad-trading blows on Iraqi soil.<\/p>\n
The request from Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi pointed to his determination to push ahead with demands for U.S. troops to leave Iraq, stoked by the American drone strike on Jan. 3 that killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. In a phone call Thursday night, he told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that recent U.S. actions were unacceptable breaches of Iraqi sovereignty and a violation of their security agreements, his office said.<\/p>\n
He asked Pompeo to \u201csend delegates to Iraq to prepare a mechanism\u201d to carry out the Iraqi Parliament\u2019s resolution on withdrawing foreign troops, according to the statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe prime minister said American forces had entered Iraq and drones are flying in its airspace without permission from Iraqi authorities, and this was a violation of the bilateral agreements,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n
Abdul-Mahdi signaled he was standing by the push for U.S. forces to leave despite signs of de-escalation by Tehran and Washington after Iran retaliated for Soleimani\u2019s death by firing missiles that hit two Iraqi bases where American troops are based but caused no casualties.<\/p>\n
Iraqis feel furious and helpless at being caught in the middle of the fighting. Abdul-Mahdi has said he rejects all violations of Iraqi sovereignty, including both the Iranian and U.S. strikes.<\/p>\n
The State Department flatly dismissed Abdul-Mahdi\u2019s request, saying U.S. troops are crucial for the fight against the Islamic State group and it would not discuss removing them.<\/p>\n
Pompeo indicated Friday the troops would remain, adding that the U.S. would continue its mission to help train Iraqi security forces and counter the Islamic State group.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are happy to continue the conversation with the Iraqis about what the right structure is,\u201d Pompeo said at the White House during an unrelated appearance.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mission set is very clear. We\u2019ve been there to perform a training mission to help the Iraqi security forces be successful and to continue the campaign against ISIS, to continue the counter-Daesh campaign,\u201d he said, using alternative acronyms for the militant group.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to continue that mission but, as times change and we get to a place where we can deliver upon what I believe and what the president believes is our right structure with fewer resources dedicated to that mission, we will do so,\u201d Pompeo said.<\/p>\n
He said a NATO team was at the State Department working on a plan \u201cto get burden-sharing right in the region, as well so that we can continue the important missions to protect and defend, and keep the American people safe\u201d while reducing costs and burdens borne by the U.S.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, Pompeo\u2019s spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to \u201cdiscussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership – not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iraqi lawmakers passed a resolution Sunday to oust U.S. troops, following the U.S. drone strike that killed Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at Baghdad\u2019s airport. The nonbinding vote put the responsibility on the government to formally request a withdrawal. Abdul-Mahdi urged lawmakers at the time to take \u201curgent measures\u201d to ensure the removal of the troops.<\/p>\n
In speaking to Pompeo, Abdul-Mahdi stopped short of requesting an immediate withdrawal, allowing time to draw up a strategy and timeline for departure.<\/p>\n
In its initial readout of the call, the State Department made no mention of Abdul-Mahdi\u2019s request on the troops. It said Pompeo, who initiated the call, reiterated the U.S. condemnation of the Iranian missile strikes and underscored that President Donald Trump \u201chas said the United States will do whatever it takes to protect the American and Iraqi people and defend our collective interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are some 5,200 U.S. troops in Iraq assisting and providing training to Iraqi security counterparts to fight IS. An American pullout could deeply set back efforts to crush remnants of the group amid concerns of its resurgence during the political turmoil.<\/p>\n
Both the U.S. and Iran have fought to defeat IS, and neither wants to see it stage a comeback.<\/p>\n
Agencies<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Iraq\u2019s caretaker prime minister asked Washington to work out a road map for an American troop withdrawal, but the U.S. State Department on Friday bluntly rejected the request, saying the two sides should instead talk about how to \u201crecommit\u201d to their partnership. Thousands of anti-government protesters turned out in the capital and southern Iraq, many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3179"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3179"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3181,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3179\/revisions\/3181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonotarsomoy.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}