The D Brief: Troops to leave Iraq?; Taliban: no peace under Ghani; SOCOM & AI; Border-wall builder seeks buyer; And a bit more...
By Bradley Peniston and Jennifer Hlad
July 23, 2021
U.S. and Iraqi officials are expected to call for the departure of U.S. combat troops from Iraq this year, the Wall Street Journal reports. But intelligence and training troops would remain to assist Iraqi forces.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told WSJ: “We don’t need any more fighters because we have those.…What do we need? We need cooperation in the field of intelligence. We need help with training. We need troops to help us in the air.”
The statement is expected to be released on Monday, when Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi meets with President Biden.
Removal, or just redefinition? One U.S. official told WSJ that “Washington plans to meet the terms of the statement mainly by redefining the role” of some of the American troops in the country, rather than reducing the number of troops. Read more, here.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/07/the-d-brief-july-23-2021/183992/
