Saturday, December 11, 2021

US troops remain in Iraq

October 10th, elections were held in Iraq.  There is still no new prime minister.  ALSUMARIA TV notes that Moqtada al-Sadr has yet to gather enough support to name a prime minister-designate.  The western press annointed Moqtada 'king maker' but a king maker isn't someone who takes over two months to make a move.  Moqtada, highly unpopular, still struggles to garner support.  


And as this takes place, notice how the western press works overtime to pretend that it's not at all strange that, two months after an election, there's no new prime minister.  

Iran's PRESS TV refuses to pretend when it comes to 'combat troops:'


The US military has claimed the end of its combat operations across Iraq under the terms of an earlier agreement with Baghdad, but added that thousands of its troops will remain in the Arab nation as “advisers.”

"This is the natural evolution," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby boasted recently after the purported change of the American military’s role was finalized at the conclusion of technical talks between officials of both countries.

Kirby insisted, however, that the change will not result in any immediate change to the laydown and number of US forces in Iraq, saying that nearly 2,500 American soldiers still remain in the country and will continue advising and training Iraqi security forces after the “transition” was completed in the past week.


Daniel DePetris (WASHINGTON EXAMINER) explains:

Hardly. The "new phase" looks a lot like the old phase.

In fact, it’s essentially identical. What the U.S. and Iraqi governments are trumpeting as progression toward the finish line is instead the military equivalent of running in place, where the allure of success is dangled in front of our eyes but just out of reach.

According to the Pentagon, the U.S. combat mission in Iraq has ended, replaced by a train, advise, and assist mission in support of Iraqi security forces. At first glance, it all sounds pretty good: U.S. troops are now offloading more responsibility onto the backs of their Iraqi counterparts.

There’s only a small problem: The U.S. military has been performing train, advise, and assist tasks even before ISIS lost its last stretch of territory in Iraq in December 2017. There is no "new mission," as Pentagon spokesman John Kirby claimed during a press briefing. It’s the same mission, with the same number of U.S. forces (approximately 2,500) performing the same jobs, likely on the same military bases. What Washington and Baghdad are actually engaging in a nifty public relations exercise. 


Actually, the US military has been carrying out 'train and advise' missions in Iraq since 2003.  On the topic of US troops, Anna Kaplan (DAILY BEAST) notes:


A platoon of Navy SEALs was sent home for drinking alcohol while deployed in Iraq, U.S. defense officials said Wednesday, The Washington Post reports. The U.S. Special Operations Command said in a statement the team was forced out early to San Diego by the commander of the task force, Maj. Gen. Eric T. Hill, “due to a perceived deterioration of good order and discipline within the team during non-operational periods” of their deployment. “The commander lost confidence in the team’s ability to accomplish the mission,” the statement said. “Commanders have worked to mitigate the operational impact as this SEAL platoon follows a deliberate redeployment.” The statement did not state what led to the decision, but two defense officials told The Post that the SEALs drinking alcohol prompted their return.


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