Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi attends the funeral of the Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guard, and the Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an airstrike at Baghdad airport, in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 4, 2020. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani
Al-Monitor: Iraqi PM quietly working to keep US troops in country
Iraq’s caretaker prime minister privately does not want US troops to withdraw, several sources familiar with the situation told Al-Monitor, though Adel Abdul Mahdi publicly backed a recent parliamentary vote that urged the Donald Trump administration to exit the war-torn country.
Despite calling on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to send an American delegation to Iraq to negotiate the withdrawal of US troops in a readout of a Friday call, Abdul Mahdi is trying to find a way to keep an American presence in the country while attempting to placate Iran-backed militia leaders who want to force 5,200 US troops out, a source familiar with the situation on the ground said.
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WNU Editor: He is in a care-taker role, and will be replaced (probably) this year. If he has leverage to make the US troops stay, I do not see it.
