Mattis compliments Iraqis on rebuilding army after meeting PM Abadi

 

BAGHDAD, Iraq — In his first visit to the Iraqi capital of Baghdad since being appointed the US secretary of defense, James Mattis praised the reconstitution of the Iraqi army and its coordination with Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the past two years in the face of the ISIS threat, after meeting with the country’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, a day after the commencement of the offensive to retake west Mosul began.

"What we've seen here is a newfound understanding from the Iraqi people on what it means to be an Iraqi country against this kind of threat — how they've worked together,” Mattis, a retired marine general, said on Monday during a press conference in Baghdad.

“You've seen the Peshmerga and the Iraqi security forces working together, you've seen some of the militias working alongside them. So, there's something coming together in terms military and political maturation. So we won't be back here five years from now.”

The prime minister’s website posted a statement regarding the Abadi-Mattis talks, which centered around military cooperation, security, the war against ISIS, and the phase of the offensive to recapture the right side of Mosul.

“The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of the international support to Iraq in its war against terrorism, [while] reiterating the emphasis that there are no foreign troops fighting on the Iraqi ground, and that there are advisers alone, and the Iraqi forces are the ones who are fighting and achieving victories,” the statement read, summarizing the role of non-Iraqi forces in the offensive.

It has remained unknown whether or not Mattis will visit the Kurdistan Region, although Kurdish President Masoud Barzani and he met on Friday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

Peshmerga forces, Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi, and the US-led international coalition to defeat ISIS, have supported the Iraqi forces since the offensive retake Mosul began in October 2016.

The commander of the coalition, US Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, described the gains made against ISIS.

"Two years ago, this army was defeated and broken... Now, that army is running a multidivisional operation involving 40 or 50,000 security forces up around Mosul — 400 kilometers from its capital and its logistical base,” Townsend said. 

“It is an incredible turnaround. They've liberated approaching on half of their lost territory, and are about to liberate their second-largest city. The Iraqi security are about to take that city about. No doubt about it.”

As ISIS is pushed out of its last stronghold in Iraq, the group will be left defending Raqqa, its de facto capital.

Mattis was reluctant to show his country’s cards regarding US support for the primarily-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in areas of northern Syria. 

"We are still sorting it out. The allies are working together, they are sharing, planning and that's ongoing,” Mattis said. 

"The planning is still underway. It's not been all decided. We are working together to sort it out.”