British general: 'No increased threat from Iranian-backed forces' in Iraq
2019-05-15 00:00:00 - Source: Iraq News
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The U.S. military Tuesday disputed earlier comments by the British deputy commander of the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq and Syria, saying they didn't reflect current intelligence about the threat posed by Iranian-backed militias.
During a morning briefing, British Maj. Gen. Chris Ghika, the No. 2 officer in coalition, said there was “no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces” to U.S. and other coalition troops in Iraq and Syria.
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But U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Bill Urban said in an afternoon statement this afternoon Ghika’s comments “run counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from U.S. and allies regarding Iranian backed forces in the region.” The Central Command, headquartered in Florida, oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, including Iraq and Syria.
The coalition “has increased the force posture level for all service members” in Iraq and Syria and “is now at a high level of alert as we continue to closely monitor credible and possibly imminent threats to U.S. forces in Iraq,” Urban added.
Ghika had declined to say whether the coalition had raised its formal threat posture.
In the earlier briefing, Ghika had been quick to insist his comments didn't contradict messaging from the White House and Pentagon, which last week claimed it had intelligence of impending Iranian-sponsored action against U.S. forces and interests, including in Iraq.
The coalition has observed “no change in their posture since the recent exchange between the United States and Iran and we hope and expect that that will continue,” Ghika told reporters, referring to Iraqi Shiite militia groups that receive support from Iran. “We don’t see an increased threat from them at this stage.”
Asked to square his statements with assertions by the White House and U.S. Central Command that the threat to U.S. troops in Iraq from the militias is increasing, Ghika insisted that “we’re on exactly the same page,” adding later, “I don’t think we’re out of step with the White House at all.”
Ghika acknowledged that Iranian-backed militias are among the threats the coalition routinely considers in assessing how to defend its troops.
“We’ve reviewed them obviously in light of the events of the past week or so,” he said of the coalition’s security measures. “We find them completely satisfactory and we don’t intend to change them.”