The US Embassy in Baghdad: Iraqi lawmakers "do not understand" the nature of the US military presence in Iraq

by **claud39** Wed Feb 06, 2019 9:14 am

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The US Embassy in Baghdad: Iraqi lawmakers "do not understand" the nature of the US military presence in Iraq

The US Embassy in Baghdad: Iraqi lawmakers "do not understand" the nature of the US military presence in Iraq Doc-P-190237-636850522083003840

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - US law enforcement chief

Joe Hood said on Wednesday that Iraqi lawmakers "do not understand" the reality of the US military presence in Iraq, noting that if they "understand that," they will be less eager to demand the withdrawal of US troops Of the country.

"I will not comment on draft legislation in the Iraqi parliament on the withdrawal of US military forces from Iraq," Hood said in a statement to Al-Ghad Press, in response to calls by a number of parliamentary blocs to remove US military forces from Iraq.

"But I have a question for legislators in the Iraqi parliament, do they understand the fact of our military presence in Iraq, have they asked the Joint Chief of Staff, General Othman al-Ghanmi, to provide them with a summary of the fact and nature?

"If they understand the reality of this presence and what we are doing, they will be less motivated to ask us out," he said.

US President Donald Trump said earlier that "there must be a US military base in Iraq to monitor Iran," which has caused resentment and anger of many political blocs.

Earlier, the Secretary-General of the movement of Asaib Ahl al-Haq Qais al-Khazali, to review the foreign military presence in Iraq, stressing that his movement and the Al-Fatah alliance reject the US presence in the country.

"Our position is clear from the foreign presence on Iraqi soil," Khazali said in a statement. "Our position should be reviewed, and the number, quality and places of its presence in a manner that leads to the objective permitted by the Iraqi constitution is to assist the Iraqi security forces in counseling and training."

He pointed out that "the subject of the US military presence in Iraq moved to an advanced step is that US President Donald Trump revealed the real reasons for this presence, and the parliament is obliged to resolve this issue."

Khazali stressed that "