Iraqi PM Asks US to Withdraw Troops: Pompeo Refuses and Asks Iraq to Pay More for US to Stay

According to NBC News, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday to ask him “to send a delegation to Iraq to put a mechanism [in place] for implementing the Iraqi parliament decision to safely withdraw troops from Iraq…Iraq is keen to keep the best relations with its neighbors and friends within the international community, and to protect foreign representations and interests and all those present on Iraqi soil.”

Although both the U.S. and Iran have taken steps toward de-escalation, Abdul-Mahdi still intends to act on the resolution.

Five days ago, in light of the U.S. strike that killed Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani and top Iraqi paramilitary commander Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, the Iraqi parliament voted for the 5,000 U.S. troops currently serving in the country to be expelled. The resolution stated that the U.S. had violated the country’s sovereignty. In an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” following the vote, Pompeo said, “He’s [Abdu-Mahdi] under enormous threats from the very Iranian leadership that…we are pushing back against. We are confident that the Iraqi people want the United States to continue to be there to fight the counterterror campaign.”

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America is a force for good in the Middle East. Our military presence in Iraq is to continue the fight against ISIS and as the Secretary has said, we are committed to protecting Americans, Iraqis, and our coalition partners. We have been unambiguous regarding how crucial our D-ISIS mission is in Iraq. 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. Today, a NATO delegation is at the State Department to discuss increasing NATO’s role in Iraq, in line with the President’s desire for burden sharing in all of our collective defense efforts. 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.