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US Defense Secretary Esper says no decision to leave Iraq US Defense Secretary Esper says no decision to leave Iraq
(about 1 hour later)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. has made no decision about withdrawing troops from Iraq, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday in response to a letter from a senior military officer that appeared to suggest a withdrawal was underway. WASHINGTON — Top Pentagon leaders said Monday that the United States has no plans to withdraw troops from Iraq, despite a draft letter from a senior military officer that appeared to suggest plans for withdrawal were underway.
Esper told reporters Monday that the U.S. is not pulling troops out of Iraq. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters the U.S. is “moving forces around” Iraq and neighboring Kuwait. He said a draft letter circulated internally by a U.S. Marine commander was a “poorly written” honest mistake that should never have gotten out.
He said he didn’t know anything about a letter that appears to suggest some preparation of troops to move out of Iraq. But he said there has been some repositioning of U.S. forces. The draft letter appeared to suggest the U.S. was preparing to pull troops out of Iraq in response to a vote by the Iraqi Parliament over the weekend. The draft said troops would be “repositioning over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement.” and warned of an increase in helicopter travel around the Green Zone. It added, “We respect your sovereignty decision to order our departure.”
“There’s been no decision whatsoever to leave Iraq,” he said, adding, “There’s no decision to leave, nor did we issue any plans to leave or prepare to leave.” He said the U.S. remains committed to the campaign to defeat the Islamic State group in Iraq and the region. Milley and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, however, said the U.S. has been re-positioning troops, largely due to increased security threats from Iran. The letter was meant to coordinate with the Iraqi military on an increase in U.S. helicopter and troop movements as they shift positions around the country.
A letter sent Monday to the Iraqi government from a commander in Iraq said troops would be “repositioning over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement.” “There’s been no decision whatsover to leave Iraq,” Esper said. “There’s no decision to leave, nor did we issue any plans to leave or prepare to leave.”
The letter said there would be an increase in helicopter travel around the Green Zone and said, “We respect your sovereignty decision to order our departure.” Milley acknowledged that some language in the letter “implies withdrawal,” but said that ”is not what is happening.”
“The long and the short of it is, it’s an honest mistake,” he said, adding that he had just gotten off the phone with the U.S. commander in the Middle East, who explained the effort.
Esper said the U.S. remains committed to the campaign to defeat the Islamic State group in Iraq and the region.
Pro-Iran factions in the Iraqi Parliament have pushed to oust American troops following the killing of a top Iranian general in Baghdad in a U.S. drone strike last week.Pro-Iran factions in the Iraqi Parliament have pushed to oust American troops following the killing of a top Iranian general in Baghdad in a U.S. drone strike last week.
A U.S. national security official dismissed the letter.
“This is not a movement of U.S. forces out of the country,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official, who was not authorized to discuss the letter publicly, said the letter did not accurately portray the reason for the temporary redeployment of troops and contractors from Baghdad’s Green Zone.
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Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed.
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Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.