BREAKING NEWS: U.S.-led military coalition says it will WITHDRAW from Iraq after country’s parliament voted for anti-ISIS troops to leave in wake of Qassem Soleimani’s death
- General in charge of U.S. coalition forces in Iraq tells military counterpart to prepare for helicopter flights as troops pull up stakes
- Letter says troops will soon begin flying out in transport helicopters under cover of darkness
- Donald Trump said Sunday that he would only withdraw troops if Iraq paid the U.S. for building and maintaining the main air base the coalition uses
- He also threatened greater sanctions than those he has imposed on Iran
- Iraq’s parliament had passed a resolution, which is nonbinding, urging the government to evict American troops
- That was in response to Trump green-lighting a drone attack on an infamous Iranian military leader while he was in Baghdad, in Iraqi soil
The U.S. military informed its counterparts in Baghdad on Monday it was preparing for ‘movement out of Iraq,’ a day after the Iraqi parliament urged the government in a non-binding resolution to oust foreign troops.
The head of the U.S. military’s Task Force Iraq, Brigadier General William Seely, sent a letter to the head of Iraq’s joint operations command, a copy of which was seen by several news agencies.
‘Sir, in deference to the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, and as requested by the Iraqi Parliament and the Prime Minister, [the coalition] will be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement,’ Seely wrote.
‘We respect your sovereign decision to order our departure,’ the letter said.
President Donald Trump said Sunday aboard Air Force One that troops would not leave Iraq unless the country compensated the U.S. for the costs associated with building and maintaining military facilities there.
‘We have a very extraordinarily expensive air base that’s there. It cost billions of dollars to build. Long before my time,’ he said. ‘We’re not leaving unless they pay us back for it.’
Some 5,200 U.S. soldiers are stationed across Iraqi bases to support local troops preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State group
The Pentagon hasn’t confirmed the authenticity of this letter, informing an Iraqi military leader the the U.S. and other coalition forces are pulling up stakes; but Iraqi military leaders have said it’s genuine
Trump also said he would punish Baghdad economically if U.S. troops were evicted.
‘We will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It’ll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame,’ he warned.
Yet Iraqi premier Adel Abdel Mahdi met with the U.S. Ambassador Matthew Tueller on Monday, telling him it was ‘necessary to work together to withdraw foreign forces from Iraq.’
Seely wrote that in order to reposition thousands of troops elsewhere, ‘Coalition Forces are required to take certain measures to ensure that the movement out of Iraq is conducted in a safe and efficient manner.’
The letter was signed by a U.S. official on Pentagon letterhead, making it unclear whether it applied to forces from the 76 countries which make up the international coalition.
An Iraqi defense official confirmed the letter was real and had been delivered.
In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said he could not immediately confirm its authenticity. Spokespersons with Operation Inherent Resolve, the formal name for the military operatiojn in Iraq, were not available for comment.
But officials said helicopters would be traveling in and around the Green Zone as part of the preparations.
Reporters could hear helicopters flying low over Baghdad throughout the night on Monday.
Some 5,200 U.S. soldiers are stationed across Iraqi bases to support local troops preventing a resurgence of the ISIS terror group.
They make up the bulk of the broader coalition, invited by the Iraqi government in 2014 to help combat the jihadists.
On Sunday, Iraq’s parliament voted in favour of rescinding that invitation and ousting all foreign troops.
It came in reaction to a U.S. precision drone strike on Baghdad that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and top Iraqi commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, among others.