[rad-green] State Department tells Iraq it will not discuss US troop withdrawal

The Americans had to set the Iraqis straight before the Iraqis
began to have illusions about whose country this is....


*https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/10/state-department-tells-iraq-it-will-not-discuss-us-troop-withdrawal.html
<https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/10/state-department-tells-iraq-it-will-not-discuss-us-troop-withdrawal.html>CNBC
         JAN 10 2020*




*State Department tells Iraq it will not discuss US troop withdrawalBy
Amanda Macias@AMANDA_M_MACIAS*

*KEY POINTS*

   - The State Department said in a statement Friday that the U.S. will not
   hold discussions with Iraq regarding American troop withdrawal from the
   country.
   - “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 spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a
   statement.
   - On Sunday, Iraq’s parliament passed a nonbinding resolution calling
   for the removal of American forces and other foreign troops from the
   country in the wake of a U.S. airstrike that killed Iran’s top general,
   Qasem Soleimani.

[image: image.png]
*U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference at
the U.S. Department of State on November 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. Drew
Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images*

WASHINGTON — The State Department said in a statement Friday that the U.S.
will not hold discussions with Iraq regarding American troop withdrawal
from the country.

“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 spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

“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. We want to be a friend and partner to a
sovereign, prosperous, and stable Iraq,” Ortagus added, writing that
“America is a force for good in the Middle East.”

The latest revelation from the State Department further deepens confusion
over plans for U.S. troops in the region.

On Sunday, Iraq’s parliament passed a nonbinding resolution calling for the
removal of American forces
<https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/05/iraq-prime-minister-says-parliament-must-end-foreign-troop-presence-as-soon-as-possible.html>
and
other foreign troops from the country in the wake of a U.S. airstrike in
Iraq that killed Iran’s top general, Qasem Soleimani.
<https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/03/top-iranian-general-qassim-soleimani-killed-in-us-airstrike-in-baghdad-pentagon.html>

A day later, a letter from U.S. Marine Corps Gen. William Seely to Iraq’s
Defense Ministry said the withdrawal of U.S. coalition troops was occurring
<https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/06/letter-announcing-iraq-withdrawal-was-mistake-us-says.html>
“in
due deference to the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, and as requested”
by the nation’s prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, and the Iraqi parliament.

In the letter, Seely wrote that coalition troops “will be repositioning
forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward
movement.”

“In order to conduct this task, Coalition Forces are required to take
certain measures to ensure the movement out of Iraq is conducted in a safe
and efficient manner,” he added.

In the wake of the letter, the Pentagon acknowledged that the letter
informing Iraq’s Defense Ministry that U.S.-led coalition troops would
leave Iraq “was a mistake.”

“A draft unsigned letter that was acquired by an Iraqi official has no
import. It has no value whatsoever,” Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said
Tuesday in an interview with CNN.

“I will say this, the United States is not withdrawing from Iraq. In fact,
in my conversations with my counterpart, the Iraqi defense minister, I
conveyed to him that we do want to stay in Iraq and we want to continue the
important defeat ISIS mission,” he added.

“That letter is a draft, it was a mistake, it was unsigned, it should never
have been released,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley told
reporters at the Pentagon on Monday.

“Poorly worded, implies withdrawal,” Milley said. “That is not what’s
happening.”

Alongside Milley, Esper told reporters earlier in the day that the U.S. was
“repositioning forces throughout the region.”

On Tuesday, Iraq’s prime minister said that the U.S. military sent a letter
regarding American troop withdrawal from the country but that the English
version did not match the Arabic version
<https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/07/confusion-builds-over-letter-on-us-troop-withdrawal-in-iraq.html>
.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said that his country requested
clarifications on U.S. plans.

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