MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2020) French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the French LCI broadcaster on Sunday that Washington's intention to pull out its military personnel from Iraq is dangerous, as the threat posed by the Islamic State terror group (IS, banned in Russia) still persists.
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller announced on Tuesday President Donald Trump's plans to reduce by January 15 the number of US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq to 2,500 in each country. Later, White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said that Trump expected to bring all the remaining forces from the two countries by May.
"The IS still exists, and I was surprised when I learned that the US could withdraw its forces from Iraq, which would be dangerous," Le Drian said.
The troops withdrawal started in the wake of the Iraqi parliament's decision in early January to expel all foreign forces from the country as a response to Trump's order to assassinate top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3. There are currently 3,000 US troops stationed in Iraq.
