Iraq: American troops leaving Syria cannot stay in Iraq

[left-of-center2012]

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.”

--skip--

The number of American forces in Iraq has remained small due to political sensitivities in the country, after years of what some Iraqis consider U.S. occupation during the war that began in 2003. It is a potentially explosive issue.

https://www.apnews.com/825fb065d6f044a590a1fee8101a5a26

[theophilus]

1. Womp womp. Doing a little reaping of what we done sowed. n/t

[flibbitygiblets]

2. Let's see what Defense Secretary "Esperanto" has to say about this!

What's that? We don't own Iraq? Didn't get the invitation and just assumed we could crash at their place?

Well, this is awkward.

[CottonBear]

4. I suppose there's always Saudi Arabia & Afghanistan. N/T

[Sugar Smack]

10. Yeah, they didn't think of that, did they??

[Aristus]

3. Jesus! Invade their country and kill a million of their people, and it's like they don't even want

us around anymore!...

[mfcorey1]

5. Lord, protect our troops because it looks like no one knows who is on first!

[left-of-center2012]

6. Trump said he was bringing them home

[Midnightwalk]

7. Gross incompetence and dereliction

Everything that has happened including this was completely predictable. Any semi-competent plan would have already anticipated where we would move our forces and negotiated being able to do so.

This is what happens when you elect an idiot and let him go unchecked for 3 years. There is no one with a spine in the republican party.

Maybe we can get russian to rent one of our abandoned facilities to us.

[Claritie Pixie]

13. Esper said today that he must remain flexible to accommodate the president's orders.

In other words, there is no plan. Idiots.

[Wellstone ruled]

8. Appears we are going to repopulate

the one time US Base in Saudi,or over populate Qatar where we have a major Headquarters Operation.

So as of this past week or so,Turkey has forged a major Alliance with Putin thus pulling 4 million Troops out of NATO in a de-facto action. Putin just pulled off one of his big items on his to do list.

With the Islamic Fighters now free to roam,those Syrian/Kurdish Oil Fields are free game and you just know what the next hot spot is going to be.

[Takket]

9. So drumpf was in such a hurry to give a dictator what he wanted...

That he ordered our troops out without even having a place for them to go????

WTF????

ITMF

[bdamomma]

14. This regime

doesn't have a plan. So in the meantime our troops are in harm's way, because of this idiot boy.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

11. Donny Dumbfuck fucks up again.

[Claritie Pixie]

12. Wow. This is demoralizing to our troops and it's the megalomaniac's fault.