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| Iraq |
| FM Jaafary: Iraq not to request foreign ground troops |
| 2014-11-09 |
| [Iraq News] The Foreign Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafary, stated that Iraq does not need a ny foreign ground troops. In a presser, Jaafary said "We assured that we did not request any foreign ground troops and the only ground troops in Iraq will be the Iraqi security forces." Regarding the reports of making a military base in Erbil, northern Iraq, Jaafary said "Iraq is united and there is no difference between northern and southern of Iraq when such issue cannot be done without the request of the Prime Minister and the approval of the parliament." Pentagon: Iraqi PM requests sending more US troops President B.O. has authorized the deployment of an additional 1,500 American troops to Iraq in the coming months, doubling the number of Americans meant to train and advise Iraqi and Kurdish forces. The trainers and advisers are to help Iraqis and Kurds as they plan a major offensive expected next spring against Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... fighters who have poured into Iraq from Syria. During a conference call with news hounds, senior administration officials denied that Mr. Obama waited until after the elections to announce the deployment so as not to alarm an already skittish electorate. "It's being done now, quite frankly, because the Iraqis have demonstrated the willingness and the will to go after ISIL," Admiral Kirby told news hounds after the call, using another name for the Islamic State. Iraqi forces, he said, have "reached the point where they need additional help and guidance." Admiral Kirby said that Iraq's new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, had requested the help. "There was no political angle to the timing here," he said. Administration officials did not express any heightened concern, at least during the conference call, about the military effort. So far it consists largely of American White House officials said the request for $5 billion will be presented to Congress during the lame-duck session that begins next week. Officials said the decision to send additional troops was based on what they said was legal authority the president already has from Congress. But they said the president wanted a new authorization from Congress for continuing American military action in Iraq and Syria, which Mr. Obama has said will last into the presidency of his successor. "I do think that it points to the utility in the president working with Congress to formulate and implement our counter-ISIL strategy," the official said. If Congress and the president are in agreement on a strategy against the Islamic State, the official said, "we send a more united message overseas." Iraqi and Kurdish forces have slowly begun pushing back and retaking territory threatened or captured by the Islamic State in recent weeks, including the Rabia border crossing with Syria, the oil refinery in Baiji north of Baghdad, the northern town of Zumar, and Jurf al-Sakhar, southwest of Baghdad. But officials said the major push will require training three new Iraqi Army divisions, more than 20,000 troops, in the coming months. Since the departure of Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, the former Iraqi prime minister, American officials have been far more vocal about blaming him for what is widely viewed as a dismal initial performance by the Iraqi military against the Islamic State. On Friday, Admiral Kirby said that the new Iraqi government under Mr. Abadi has shown a new willingness to work to engage Sunni groups, including in Anbar, and to train its soldiers to stand and fight. "We did spend a lot of money and effort training the Iraqi Army," Admiral Kirby said. "When we left them in 2011, we left them capable." He said the Maliki government "squandered" the American military's training of Iraqi troops, but expressed optimism that things will be different now. "This is a completely different game," he said, pointing to a recent visit by Mr. Abadi to Anbar Province to engage Sunni leaders in the fight against the Islamic State. Administration officials said they expect international allies will help in the training effort and announced a commitment Friday of 120 military personnel from Denmark to the cause. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 "Iraqi security forces." I think Mr. Jaafary misspelled 'Shiite' |
| Posted by: Pappy 2014-11-09 08:45 |