Acting Pentagon chief in Baghdad

BAGHDAD: Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan made an unannounced visit to the Iraqi capital yesterday for talks on the sensitive issue of a continued US troop presence after Washington withdraws from neighboring Syria. Shanahan is keen to reassure Iraqi leaders after President Donald Trump angered many by saying he wanted to maintain some troops at the AlAsad airbase, northwest of Baghdad, to keep an eye on Iran.

The acting defense secretary, who flew in from Afghanistan on his foreign tour since taking office last month, was due to hold talks with Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi and top military advisers, as well as Lieutenant General Paul LaCamera, the commander of anti-IS coalition forces. “Our main partnership and military activity in Iraq is the deISIS (IS) mission,” a senior Pentagon official told journalists travelling with Shanahan, keeping the focus on the fight against Islamic State jihadists. Washington was also pressing its allies to repatriate their nationals captured and taken prisoner after fighting fought for IS in Iraq and Syria, the official said.

“We think coalition members need to take responsibility for their citizens who are fighters. It’s been a message we’ve delivered time and time again. And we are seeing hopeful progress,” he said. Trump’s comments about Iran, in an interview with CBS television aired on February 3, drew a stern rebuff from President Barham Saleh, who said the use of Iraq as a base against a third country violated its constitution. They also sparked renewed calls for a US withdrawal both from pro-Iran factions within the government and from Iran-trained armed groups whose power has risen sharply during the fightback against the Islamic State group that culminated in December 2017. — AFP