US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday for a surprise visit to “reaffirm the strategic partnership between the US and Iraq,” the US official said on Twitter.
“Landing in Baghdad. I am here to reaffirm the strategic partnership between the United States and Iraq as we move toward a more secure, stable, and sovereign Iraq”said the head of the Pentagon.
Wheels down in Baghdad. I am here to reaffirm the strategic partnership between the US and Iraq as we move towards a more secure, stable and sovereign Iraq. pic.twitter.com/hJVJjefuyv
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) March 7, 2023
The visit comes as Iraq marks the 20th anniversary of the US invasion against Saddam Hussein’s regime. The offensive, launched on March 20, 2003 by US forces backed by an international coalition, opened one of the bloodiest pages in Iraqi history.
Baghdad has been the scene of intense diplomatic debate in recent weeks. Iraqi leaders successively received the heads of diplomacy from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia before the visit of UN Secretary-General António Guterres in early March.
Iraq is a staunch ally of Iran, but it maintains very strong ties with Washington, especially on a military level.
US troops remain deployed in Iraq as part of the international coalition led by Washington to fight the “jihadists” of the Islamic State (IS).
The IS, which began a presence in Iraq in 2017, continues to claim possible attacks in the country and the international coalition remains mobilized to prevent a resurgence of it.
At the end of 2021, Iraq announced the “end of the combat mission” of the international coalition, but the troops remain on Iraqi soil to perform a training and advisory role for the Iraqi armed forces.
Source: DN
