US amb. says Iraqi army 'not ready' to protect Iraq alone
Joey Hood, chargé d'affaires at the US embassy in Baghdad,
affirmed that Iraq still needs the presence of foreign troops inside its territory,
saying on Tuesday that Iraqi armed forces are currently not ready to
protect the country.
“The Iraqi armed forces aren’t ready to safeguard [Iraq’s]
security without the support of foreign troops,” Hood said.
Qais al-Khazali, the leader of pro-Iranian militias of Asaib Ahl
al-Haq slammed Hood's remarks, describing them as an “insult."
“The remarks by Hood about the incapability of Iraqi
forces to encounter terror is an insult to all Iraqi forces,” Khazali wrote on
Twitter.
The Shi’ite militia leader argued that Hood’s remarks were
an attempt to justify the prolonged stay of the US forces in Iraq.
The
top Pentagon official assured Iraqi leaders earlier in February that the US
will stick to its limited military role in Iraq, a message aimed at recent
talks by some Iraqi politicians of forcing a US troop withdrawal, ABC News
reported.
Pat
Shanahan, the acting secretary of defense, said that in talks with Prime
Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi, he stressed US respect for Iraqi sovereignty, an
issue that has become a hot-button topic among Iraqis since President Donald
Trump suggested using Iraq as a base for monitoring neighboring Iran and for
potential attacks against remaining elements of the ISIS group
in Syria.