Top US Gen. Kenneth McKenzie visited Baghdad on Tuesday, predicting to reporters that in upcoming talks Iraq would ultimately ask US troops to remain. He said Iraq understands the “true value” of the US presence.
The US is planning to have talks with Iraq on the future military presence this summer. Iraq’s parliament had unanimously voted to call on the US to leave, though the US has not recognized that vote, and has ruled out leaving repeatedly.
McKenzie is just the latest to predict that everyone would want US troops to remain at the end of the day, and he too cited the battle with ISIS, which Iraq’s government has presented as over for months. The US structured the talks on presence to tie it to diplomatic and economic ties, allowing the US to threaten isolation for expelling the unwelcome troops.
Since the parliament’s call for the US ouster, Iraq has gone through multiple PMs, and the post is now held by a pro-US official, which may add to the US sense that they can continue to push allies to keep troops there.
Translation: We gave Iraqi politicians double the usual suitcases of $100 greenbacks for the privilege to occupy their wonderful country and threw in some bitcoin.
“Iraq’s parliament had unanimously voted to call on the US to leave”
Not exactly. There was a unanimous vote calling on the US to leave. That vote was taken by a portion of the parliament, not the entire parliament (an opposing bloc boycotted the session).
That portion was still a majority. And I’m wondering how many in the “opposing bloc” were opposing out of fear of reprisal(sanctions)from us.
I didn’t say it wasn’t a majority. I just noted that it was not a unanimous parliament, it was a unanimous parliamentary bloc. There’s a difference. The vote was legitimate, and had a quorum, and passed.
That portion ( a minority ) of the parliament where the Peshmerga, the Kurds and Sunni members of Parliament that boycotted the vote, they are paid and funded by the US and the Saudi`s ( Sunni – Wahhabi ).
There’s a lot of fear on the Kurdish side about what happens if US forces leave Iraq and Syria, traitors usually get punished.
The numbers…expel US troops 170-0
150 members boycotted, or did not attend.
General McKenzie can stay in Iraq full time… Let that sonofabitch be the last American to leave.
The general needs to STFU.
No problem, any Iraqi government that rubber-stamps US troops remaining will be toppled in a popular insurrection soon enough.
Translation: The pro-US PM will bow to US pressure, threats and possible crippling sanctions.