Small Wars Journal

Iraq: American Troops Leaving Syria Cannot Stay In Iraq

Tue, 10/22/2019 - 4:30pm

Iraq: American Troops Leaving Syria Cannot Stay In Iraq by Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Zeina Karam – Associated Press

U.S. troops leaving Syria and heading to neighboring Iraq do not have permission to stay in the country, Iraq’s military said Tuesday as American forces continued to pull out of northern Syria after Turkey’s invasion of the border region.

The statement appears to contradict U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who has said that under the current plan, all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and the military would continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence in the region.

On Tuesday, Esper said he plans to talk to Iraqi leaders to work out details about the U.S. plan to send American troops withdrawing from Syria to Iraq, adding that the U.S. has no plans to have those troops stay in Iraq “interminably.”…

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