Iraq Has 'No Appetite' for US Forces to Withdraw - CENTCOM

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2020) Iraqis do not want to see the complete withdrawal of US forces because they need help fighting the Islamic State (IS, a terrorist group banned in Russia), Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said on Thursday.

"There is no appetite on the part of the Iraqis for a precipitous withdrawal of US forces. They don't want it because they know that we still provide very very good support for them as they continue operations against ISIS [IS]," he said during a webinar.

The United States has confirmed its plans to further decrease the number of servicemen deployed to Iraq, a joint statement of the governments of the United States and Iraq said earlier in the month.

On January 5, the Iraqi parliament approved a resolution that demanded the immediate and complete withdrawal of foreign troops from the country. The resolution was approved after the United States killed Iran's Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi Shia militia group commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis near Baghdad. Members of parliament concluded that the US action violated Iraq's sovereignty.