In AP Interview, general says US troops to remain in Iraq

By Lolita C. Baldor and Robert Burns | Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The apical U.S. commandant for the Middle East said Thursday that the United States volition support the existent 2,500 troops successful Iraq for the foreseeable future, and helium warned that helium expects expanding attacks connected U.S. and Iraqi unit by Iranian-backed militias determined to get American forces out.

Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie said successful an interrogation with The Associated Press astatine the Pentagon that contempt the displacement by U.S. forces to a non-combat relation successful Iraq, they volition inactive supply aerial enactment and different subject assistance for Iraq’s combat against the Islamic State.

Noting that Iranian-backed militias privation each Western forces retired of Iraq, helium said an ongoing uptick successful unit whitethorn proceed done December.

“They really privation each U.S. forces to leave, and each U.S. forces are not going to leave,” helium said, adding that arsenic a result, “that whitethorn provoke a effect arsenic we get aboriginal into the extremity of the month.”

The Iraqi authorities earlier Thursday announced the decision of talks connected ending the U.S. combat ngo against IS. U.S. forces person been mostly successful an advisory relation for immoderate time, truthful the announced modulation changes little. The announcement reflects a July determination by the Biden medication to extremity the U.S. combat ngo successful Iraq by Dec. 31.

“We’ve drawn down from bases we didn’t need, we’ve made it harder to get astatine us. But the Iraqis inactive privation america to beryllium there. They inactive privation the presence, they inactive privation the engagement,” said McKenzie. “So arsenic agelong arsenic they privation it, and we tin mutually hold that’s the lawsuit — we’re going to beryllium there.”

He said helium believes Islamic State militants volition proceed to beryllium a menace successful Iraq and that the radical volition “keep recreating itself, possibly nether a antithetic name.” The key, helium said, volition beryllium to guarantee that IS is not capable to coalesce with different elements astir the globe and go progressively beardown and dangerous.

America invaded Iraq successful 2003, and astatine the highest constituent had much than 170,000 troops battling insurgents successful the state and aboriginal moving to bid and counsel Iraqi forces. All U.S. forces were withdrawn astatine the extremity of 2011, but conscionable 3 years later, American troops were backmost to assistance Iraq bushed backmost the Islamic State group, which had swept crossed the borderline from Syria to summation power of a ample swath of the country.

The U.S. beingness successful Iraq has agelong been a flash constituent for Tehran, but tensions spiked aft a January 2020 U.S. drone onslaught adjacent the Baghdad airdrome killed a apical Iranian general. In retaliation, Iran launched a barrage of missiles astatine al-Asad airbase, wherever U.S. troops were stationed. More than 100 work members suffered traumatic encephalon injuries successful the blasts.

More recently, Iranian proxies are believed liable for an assassination effort past period connected Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. And officials person said they judge Iran was down the October drone onslaught astatine the subject outpost successful confederate Syria wherever American troops are based. No U.S. unit were killed oregon injured successful the attack.

“I deliberation an onslaught to termination the premier curate is simply a beauteous important event,” McKenzie said. “I deliberation that’s a signpost of the desperation that they’re nether close now.” Iranian officials person said Tehran and its allies had thing to bash with past month’s drone onslaught that lightly injured the Iraqi premier minister.

McKenzie, who has headed U.S. Central Command for astir 3 years and traveled extensively passim the region, painted a representation that reflected the caller upheaval successful Afghanistan, wherever U.S. troops departed astatine the extremity of August.

On Afghanistan, McKenzie said the al-Qaida extremist radical has grown somewhat since U.S. forces near and that the ruling Taliban leaders are divided astir their 2020 pledge to interruption ties with the group. He said the departure of the U.S subject and quality assets from the state has made it “very hard, not impossible” to guarantee that neither al-Qaida nor the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate tin airs a menace to the United States.

Like the Taliban’s agelong run to get Americans retired of Afghanistan, Iran and its proxies person battled to get the U.S. retired of Iraq and the broader Middle East.

“Iran inactive pursues a imaginativeness of ejecting us,” helium said. “And they spot the main battleground for that arsenic being successful Iraq. And I judge they are nether the presumption that they tin summation friction successful Iraq to wherever we volition leave.”

Iran, helium said, believes that run won’t impact the atomic negotiations that were agelong stalled but are present restarting. But, helium said, “I deliberation it’s a unsafe presumption for the Iranians to maintain, due to the fact that I deliberation they’re not going to beryllium capable to decouple those 2 things.”

McKenzie said that arsenic NATO begins to grow its beingness successful Iraq arsenic planned, the U.S. volition refine its unit there. And the full U.S. unit beingness volition beryllium connected aboriginal agreements with Iraq’s government.

The U.S. troops successful Syria, presently numbering astir 900, volition proceed to counsel and assistance Syrian rebel forces successful the combat against IS, McKenzie said. He said it’s not wide however overmuch longer that volition beryllium indispensable but said, “I deliberation we are measurably person than we were a mates of years ago. I inactive deliberation we person a ways to go.”

More broadly, McKenzie noted that the U.S. unit beingness crossed the Middle East has importantly dropped since past year, erstwhile it peaked amid tensions with Iran, astatine arsenic overmuch arsenic 80,000. The U.S. has identified China and Russia arsenic the apical nationalist information threats, labeling China arsenic America’s “pacing challenge,” and has looked to absorption much effort and assets successful the Pacific.

In its caller reappraisal of the positioning of U.S. forces astir the world, the Pentagon said small astir removing oregon repositioning troops successful the Middle East. McKenzie and different apical subject leaders person agelong disquieted that the U.S. subject is concentrated successful excessively fewer locations successful the Middle East and indispensable disperse much to summation security.

“We deliberation it is important to enactment with our partners successful the portion to contiguous a much analyzable targeting occupation to Iran,” helium said, adding that U.S. volition look astatine different bases and opportunities to determination troops astir to execute that goal.

McKenzie said helium is peculiarly acrophobic by Iran’s improvement of ballistic and cruise missiles arsenic good arsenic equipped drones.

“And truthful those things are precise concerning to maine due to the fact that they proceed to make them,” helium said. “And they amusement nary signs of abating successful their probe successful this field, and their fielding of caller and progressively lethal and susceptible weapons.”