Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mattis: U.S. will stay in Iraq, won’t seize oil

- By Lolita C. Baldor

BAGHDAD — U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, on the first visit by a senior Trump administra­tion official to Iraq, said Monday he believes U.S. forces will be in Iraq and in the fight against Islamic State extremists for a while, even amid some rocky times between the two nations.

Despite President Donald Trump’s past threats to take Iraq’s oil and his attempt to impose a travel ban that includes Iraqi citizens, the defense secretary worked Monday to repair breaches of trust with Iraq’s leaders as that country’s forces advanced into the southern outskirts of Mosul on the second day of a push to drive IS from the city’s western half.

Mr. Mattis rejected the suggestion that the U.S. might take Iraq’s oil.

At the same time, the U.S. military for the first time acknowledg­ed how close American service members are to the front lines.

Mr. Mattis said his meetings with Iraqi leaders underscore­d the partnershi­p the U.S. has with the Iraqis.

Mr. Mattis found himself in nearly the same position he was in during his just-finished trip to Europe, where much of his time was spent reassuring wary allies that the U.S. was still committed to NATO after statements and actions by Mr. Trump seemed to call old alliances into question.

After meetings in Baghdad with military commanders and Iraqi political leaders, Mr. Mattis said he is open to any request from his military commanders to aid the battle to retake Mosul and launch a major battle to oust IS from the base of its so-called caliphate in Raqqa, Syria.

He would not provide details.

He said there’s no doubt that “the Iraqi people, the Iraqi military and the Iraqi political leadership recognize what they’re up against and the value of the coalition and the partnershi­p, in particular with the United States.”

Mr. Trump’s threat to take oil and his inclusion of Iraq in his administra­tion’s travel ban have roiled the nation and spurred local lawmakers to pressure Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to reduce cooperatio­n with Washington.

“We’re not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil,” Mr. Mattis told the reporters traveling with him.

Mr. Trump brought up the prospect during the campaign and again last month during a visit to the CIA. “To the victor belong the spoils,” he said, “maybe you’ll have another chance” to take oil.

Iraq’s economy is nearly entirely reliant on oil and it remains the lifeblood for Mr. Abadi’s fragile government as it tries to provide basic services to citizens and maintain the nation’s aging infrastruc­ture.

Earlier, on the subject of another version of the travel ban that the Trump administra­tion intends to issue, Mr. Mattis said Sunday that he had not seen the new executive order. “But right now,” he said, “I’m assured that we will take steps to allow those who have fought alongside us to be allowed into the United States.”

Despite those tensions, Mr. Mattis and Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, described an enduring partnershi­p between the U.S. and Iraq.

“I imagine we’ll be in this fight for a while and we’ll stand by each other,” Mr. Mattis said.

Gen. Townsend, standing by Mr. Mattis, also acknowledg­ed that U.S. forces — specifical­ly, advisers numbering about 450 — are now operating closer and deeper into the Mosul fight with Iraq units. The Trump administra­tion has not yet granted new authoritie­s, but has loosened the reins for U.S. generals running the war.

Apache helicopter gunships as well as American and other allied artillery are set to strike IS targets in and around western Mosul, as they have for weeks in the fight to reclaim what was once Iraq’s second-largest city, officials said.

American commanders estimate that 2,000 to 3,000 IS fighters remain hunkered down in western Mosul.

Mr. Abadi announced the much-anticipate­d assault early Sunday, and by nightfall roughly five square miles had been recaptured on the southern outskirts of the western bank of the Tigris River.

Iraqi helicopter­s fired rockets at the village of Abu Saif early Monday, targeting a hill that overlooks the city’s airport. By noon, the forces entered the village and gained control over much of the strategic hill as fighting was still raging.

Separately, militarize­d police in armored vehicles were moving toward the sprawling Ghazlani military base on the southweste­rn outskirts of the city.

The New York Times, The Washington Post and Tribune News Service contribute­d.

 ?? Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images ?? Iraqi forces advance Monday near the village of Husseinyah, south of Mosul, during the offensive to retake the western side of Mosul.
Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images Iraqi forces advance Monday near the village of Husseinyah, south of Mosul, during the offensive to retake the western side of Mosul.

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