Acting Pentagon chief in surprise visit to Baghdad
Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan arrived in
Baghdad on Tuesday for an unannounced trip that he said would emphasize the
importance of Iraqi sovereignty and broach the issue of the future of US troops
there, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
The visit comes after President Donald Trump said this month
that a U.S. presence was needed to observe Iran.
In his first trip to Iraq, Shanahan is set to meet with Iraqi
officials, including Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
"We are in Iraq at the invitation of the government and our
interests are to build Iraqi security capability," Shanahan told reporters
traveling with him.
"I want to hear first-hand from them about concerns, the
political dynamics that they are facing and then based on that we will
obviously factor that into our planning."
Shanahan will also discuss the withdrawal of U.S. troops from
Syria with U.S. commanders.