Pentagon Insists US Troops Are ’Force for Good’ In Iraq although Parliament Votes To Expel Them

By Staff, Agencies

The US War Department claimed that its military presence makes Iraq more secure and "prosperous," despite calls by Iraqi lawmakers for the removal of all foreign troops from the country and growing tensions with Iran.

"At this time, there are no plans by the US military to withdraw from Iraq," Assistant to War Secretary Jonathan Rath Hoffman told reporters at a press briefing.

The official alleged that the US presence in the country is "beneficial" to Iraq and "will continue to lead to increased security and prosperity for the Iraqi people."

Despite Hoffman's confidence, his words seem to be at odds with the Iraqi Parliament, which on January 5 passed a non-binding resolution asking caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi to cancel the request for military assistance from the US-led coalition.

The vote took place two days after a US drone strike killed Iranian senior military leader Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy chief of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units [PMU], when their convoy was leaving Baghdad's airport. Soleimani was scheduled to meet PM Mahdi on that day.

Iran retaliated in response to Soleimani's assassination by firing several ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases that house US occupation forces.