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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Retired United States Army Lieutenant General Jay M. Garner says President Joe Biden’s “timid” responses to attacks on international targets in Iraq are sending the wrong message to Iran.
Rudaw's Bestoon Khalid on Tuesday interviewed the former commanding general for US forces during the 1991 Joint Task Force Bravo-Operation Provide Comfort, which delivered humanitarian aid to Kurds fleeing the Baath regime’s persecution and enforced a no-fly zone.
“When you’re attacked, you respond with force is a way to do it, but they haven't,” said Garner, who was also briefly appointed as Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. “We've always responded with force. [...] He's only been president for about three months. So you got to wait and see what he does, but he has been very timid with his responses thus far."
Rocket attacks widely blamed on pro-Iran militias take place frequently across Iraq. Erbil International Airport was the target of a rocket attack in mid-February and a drone attack in mid-April.
“I think he gives the wrong signal to the Iranians, and it gives the wrong signal to our Arab allies," he added, arguing that the US has not had a coherent policy in Iraq in 18 years.
International targets in central and southern Iraq have been a site of frequent bombardment by rogue armed groups. The Kurdistan Region has seen comparatively less rocket fire.
The retired military official said the reasons the Region is being attacked is two-fold: “The first reason is to force Kurdistan to tell the US that they want them to get out of there. And the second reason is to try to bring Kurdistan under their control.”
Rudaw's Bestoon Khalid on Tuesday interviewed the former commanding general for US forces during the 1991 Joint Task Force Bravo-Operation Provide Comfort, which delivered humanitarian aid to Kurds fleeing the Baath regime’s persecution and enforced a no-fly zone.
“When you’re attacked, you respond with force is a way to do it, but they haven't,” said Garner, who was also briefly appointed as Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. “We've always responded with force. [...] He's only been president for about three months. So you got to wait and see what he does, but he has been very timid with his responses thus far."
Rocket attacks widely blamed on pro-Iran militias take place frequently across Iraq. Erbil International Airport was the target of a rocket attack in mid-February and a drone attack in mid-April.
“I think he gives the wrong signal to the Iranians, and it gives the wrong signal to our Arab allies," he added, arguing that the US has not had a coherent policy in Iraq in 18 years.
International targets in central and southern Iraq have been a site of frequent bombardment by rogue armed groups. The Kurdistan Region has seen comparatively less rocket fire.
The retired military official said the reasons the Region is being attacked is two-fold: “The first reason is to force Kurdistan to tell the US that they want them to get out of there. And the second reason is to try to bring Kurdistan under their control.”
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