Iraq 0
7 July 2020

CENTCOM Commander Kenneth McKenzie visited Iraq and met with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Discussing his visit, McKenzie assessed that “the government of Iraq recognises the extreme value that the [U.S.-led] coalition brings to the fight against Daesh in Iraq. And I believe that going forward, they're going to want us to be with them... our posture could get smaller as the Iraqis get better at what they do”. He further maintained that “this is actually the responsibility the government of Iraq to assist in our protection. The prime minister realises that, and the actions that he's taken have been totally aligned with that principle… I do believe they’ve been successful stopping attacks against us”. “We also know that there is pressure just brought on the Iraqis from the Iranians and from the Shiite militia groups... We're going to help him in every way that we can”, he added.

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