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This interview was filmed on May 5, 2021.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — US congressman Michael Waltz has told Rudaw’s Roj Eli Zalla that a small US troop presence in Iraq is important in providing security for the US and its allies.
“We provide a lot of very valuable support and I fully appreciate and know that it's the Peshmerga and the Iraqi army that's doing the real fighting, but the support that we provide and intelligence and logistics… is critical.”
“For that reason, a small presence, I do think, is important. We get a lot of benefit for our allies and for American security by having that small amount of soldiers in Iraq and standing with the Kurds,” he added.
Waltz, who submitted a resolution to the US congress in late April on Operation Provide Comfort, also explained his reasons for sponsoring the bill.
“The Kurds are a fantastic, cultural people and steadfast ally of the United States. This operation, I think allowed the Kurdish people, the freedom and the oxygen, so to speak and the space from the murderous Saddam Hussein regime, to really kind of get back on their feet and to establish themselves politically, economically from a civil society standpoint,”
“I want to commemorate and remind everyone that the United States military, the United States government stepped in to prevent another massacre through this operation. And I think the Kurdish people, the region, and our relationship was far better for it.”
“We provide a lot of very valuable support and I fully appreciate and know that it's the Peshmerga and the Iraqi army that's doing the real fighting, but the support that we provide and intelligence and logistics… is critical.”
“For that reason, a small presence, I do think, is important. We get a lot of benefit for our allies and for American security by having that small amount of soldiers in Iraq and standing with the Kurds,” he added.
Waltz, who submitted a resolution to the US congress in late April on Operation Provide Comfort, also explained his reasons for sponsoring the bill.
“The Kurds are a fantastic, cultural people and steadfast ally of the United States. This operation, I think allowed the Kurdish people, the freedom and the oxygen, so to speak and the space from the murderous Saddam Hussein regime, to really kind of get back on their feet and to establish themselves politically, economically from a civil society standpoint,”
“I want to commemorate and remind everyone that the United States military, the United States government stepped in to prevent another massacre through this operation. And I think the Kurdish people, the region, and our relationship was far better for it.”
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