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#Iraq wants US to set up mechanism for withdrawal of troops, US sez no

[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

#Iraq wants US to set up mechanism for withdrawal of troopshttps://t.co/5KOZH5TvuL
— Press TV (@PressTV) January 10, 2020

Ask nicely. No nicely, no bye-bye.

And don’t forget to draw up a payment plan for the $1 billion you owe us for that base we built.

Any delegation the United States would send to Iraq would not discuss the withdrawal of US troops from the country, the US State Department says, adding the force presence there was “appropriate.”https://t.co/x57ii2cz7g
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) January 10, 2020

Washington rejects Baghdad’s request to plan US troop withdrawal

[Rudaw] The US State Department released a statement on Friday bluntly refusing requests from the Iraqi Parliament and Prime Minister to withdraw troops from the country. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus stated that delegations from Washington to Baghdad would not discuss troop withdrawal with Iraqi officials.

“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,” stated Ortagus.

She added that a NATO delegation has visited the US 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.” US President Trump stated in a press conference on Wednesday that NATO needed to become more involved in the Middle East. He also spoke with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the phone on Wednesday, who “agreed that NATO could contribute more to regional stability and the fight against international terrorism.”
Posted by: Fred 2020-01-11

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