US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has denied the decision to withdraw the detached military in Iraq, although the US military has sent a letter to the Iraqi military command informing him of this intention.
“No decision has been made to leave Iraq. This letter does not correspond to our state of mind,” said Mark Esper, quoted by several news agencies.
According to the letter sent, consulted by the France-Presse Agency (AFP), the US military said it would “reposition” the international coalition forces with a view to “withdrawal from Iraq safely and effectively“
US Military Chief of Staff General Mark Milley also added that “the letter is authentic“but that” was sent in error “.
Two military leaders, one American and one Iraqi, confirmed to the French news agency document authenticity, signed by General William H. Seely, commander of US military operations in Iraq.
“We respect your sovereign decision ordering our departure,” the text said after a vote in parliament urging the government to expel foreign troops from Iraq following the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and a commander. Iraqi military near Iran, Abou Mehdi al-Mouhandis, on Friday in Baghdad, following instructions from the White House.
“Out of respect for the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, and as requested by parliament and the prime minister, the coalition will reposition its forces (…) to ensure that the withdrawal from Iraq is done safely and effectively. “, detailed in the document.
The United States had about 5200 troops in Iraq before several hundred others arrived last week to protect the embassy in Baghdad, a security-reinforced Baghdad neighborhood attacked on Tuesday by thousands of pro-Iranian protesters.
Faced with rising tensions, Washington had recently announced that it had sent between 3,000 and 3,500 troops to the region, “most likely” to send some to Iraq, according to a US official.
Resigning Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi welcomed US Ambassador Matthew Tueller, according to his cabinet. Abdel Mahdi insisted on “the need to work together to remove foreign forces from Iraq, as the Parliament has complained, for relations with the US to split on a good basis,” according to his cabinet.
The coalition formed to fight the so-called Islamic State group – which in 2014 seized one-third of Iraqi territory and large pieces of Syrian – has not yet reacted. It is not clear that these troop movements respect all soldiers in the 76 coalition countries.
Speaking to Lusa, the Minister of National Defense was expectant that the 35 Portuguese military personnel deployed in Iraq could “resume their work” in training “within the next few weeks”.
On the sidelines of a visit to the Oeiras social support center of the Armed Forces Institute of Social Action (IASFA), João Gomes Cravinho pointed out that “the mission of this force is not a combat force, it is a training force”.
Portugal has 35 military personnel deployed in Iraq, on a mission that began in November and is scheduled to end in May, but Cravinho relativized that “if it is not for training, then it makes no sense to be there.”
Of that total, 34 military personnel are part of the international coalition, training and training the Iraqi forces, and there is another effective in the NATO mission since December, also with training and training functions.
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