6th January, 2020
The US military has informed its counterparts in Baghdad it was preparing for “movement out of Iraq,” a day after the Iraqi parliament urged the government to oust foreign troops.
The head of the US military’s Task Force Iraq, Brigadier General William Seely, sent a letter to the head of Iraq’s joint operations command, a copy of which was seen by AFP.
The letter said troops would “be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement.”
A US defence official and an Iraqi defence official confirmed the letter was real and had been delivered.
The letter contradicted President Trump’s statement that the US troops would not leave Iraq, unless Baghdad compensated the US with billions, over the air base built in the country.