Iraq keeping some US military advisers due to IS threat in Syria

BAGHDAD — Iraq ’s prime minister said Monday that a small contingent of U.S. military advisers will remain in the country for now to coordinate with U.S. forces in neighboring Syria combating the Islamic State group.

Washington and Baghdad agreed last year to wind down a U.S.-led coalition fighting IS in Iraq by this September, with U.S. forces departing some bases where they have been stationed.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told journalists in Baghdad that U.S. military advisers and support personnel are now stationed at the Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq, a base adjacent to the Baghdad airport, and the al-Harir air base in northern Iraq.

Al-Sudani noted that the agreement originally stipulated a full pullout of U.S. forces from Ain al-Asad by September, but that “developments in Syria” since then required maintaining a “small unit” of between 250 and 350 advisers and security personnel at the base.

He said they would work to support counter-IS surveillance and coordination with the al-Tanf base in Syria. He added that other U.S. sites are witnessing “gradual reductions” in personnel and operations.

After the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a rebel offensive in December, fears arose in Iraq of an IS resurgence taking advantage of the ensuing security vacuum and weapons abandoned by the former Syrian army.

Al-Sudani maintained that the extremist group, which seized wide swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria a decade ago, “no longer poses a significant threat inside Iraq.”

Iraq has sought to balance its relations with the United States and neighboring Iran and to avoid being pulled into regional conflicts, a policy that the prime minister said he will continue.

“We put Iraq first, and we do not wish to act as a proxy for anyone,” he said. “Iraq will not be a battlefield for conflicts.”

At the same time, al-Sudani urged the U.S. to return to negotiations with Iran , describing the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” approach to curtail Iranian influence as “counterproductive.”

“Iran is an important and influential country that must be treated with respect and through direct dialogue,” he said.

There have been tensions between Baghdad and Washington over the presence of Iran-backed militias in Iraq. The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of militias that formed to fight IS, was formally placed under the control of the Iraqi military in 2016 but in practice still operates with significant autonomy.

The Iraqi parliament has been considering legislation that would solidify the relationship between the military and the PMF, drawing objections from Washington.

Al-Sudani did not directly address the proposed legislation but said his government’s program “includes disarmament and national dialogue to remove any justification for carrying weapons.”

“We encourage all factions to either integrate into state institutions or engage in political life,” which could include becoming political parties and running for election, he said.

Iraq is preparing for parliamentary elections next month that will determine where al-Sudani serves a second term.

“Armed factions that have transformed into political entities have the constitutional right to participate” in those elections, the prime minister said.

巴格达——伊拉克总理周一表示，一小队美国军事顾问目前将留在伊拉克，与在邻国叙利亚打击伊斯兰国组织的美国军队进行协调。

华盛顿和巴格达去年同意在今年9月前解散以美国为首的打击伊拉克境内“伊斯兰国”的联盟，美军将撤离一些驻扎的基地。

伊拉克总理穆罕默德·什叶派苏丹尼在巴格达告诉记者，美国军事顾问和支援人员目前驻扎在伊拉克西部的阿萨德空军基地（毗邻巴格达机场）和伊拉克北部的哈里尔空军基地。

苏丹尼指出，该协议最初规定美军应在9月前全部撤出阿萨德空军基地，但此后“叙利亚局势的发展”要求在该基地保留一支由250至350名顾问和安保人员组成的“小型部队”。

他表示，他们将与位于叙利亚的坦夫基地合作，支持打击“伊斯兰国”的监视和协调工作。他还补充说，其他美军基地的人员和行动也在“逐步减少”。

12 月，叙利亚前总统巴沙尔·阿萨德在叛军的进攻中倒台后，伊拉克开始担心伊斯兰国会利用随之而来的安全真空和叙利亚前军队遗弃的武器卷土重来。

苏丹尼坚称，这个十年前占领伊拉克和叙利亚大片领土的极端组织“不再对伊拉克构成重大威胁”。

伊拉克一直力求平衡与美国和邻国伊朗的关系，避免卷入地区冲突，总理表示他将继续奉行这一政策。

他说：“我们把伊拉克放在第一位，我们不想成为任何国家的代理人。伊拉克不会成为冲突的战场。”

与此同时，苏丹尼敦促美国重返与伊朗的谈判，称特朗普政府为遏制伊朗影响力而采取的“极限施压”做法“适得其反”。

他说：“伊朗是一个重要且有影响力的国家，必须给予尊重，并通过直接对话的方式对待。”

巴格达和华盛顿之间一直存在着因伊朗支持的民兵组织在伊拉克的存在而导致的紧张关系。为打击“伊斯兰国”而组建的民兵联盟——人民动员部队，于2016年正式置于伊拉克军方的控制之下，但实际上仍然拥有相当大的自主权。

伊拉克议会一直在审议一项旨在巩固军方与人民动员部队之间关系的立法，此举引起了华盛顿的反对。

苏丹尼没有直接回应这项拟议的立法，但他表示，他领导的政府的计划“包括解除武装和开展全国对话，以消除携带武器的任何理由”。

他说：“我们鼓励所有派别融入国家机构或参与政治生活，”这可能包括成立政党和参加选举。

伊拉克正准备于下个月举行议会选举，此次选举将决定苏丹尼能否连任。

总理表示，“已经转变为政治实体的武装派别有宪法权利参加”这些选举。