© AFP / Maja HitijThen-German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen speaks with a Kurdish Peshmerga and German soldiers in Iraq.
Members of the international coalition gathered to fight Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) have suspended operations in Iraq after the targeted assassination of a top Iranian general by the US.
Germany's Bundeswehr will put on pause all military missions in Iraq, it announced late on Friday night. That includes both operations aimed against IS and training of Kurdish troops. There are around 130 German soldiers deployed in Iraq at the moment, including 27 stationed at the Taji military base 30km (18 miles) north of Baghdad.
The same security lockdown is true for the
70 soldiers from Sweden, who act as advisers to the Iraqi military. "We have to see what happens. We cannot go into details for safety reasons, but we have paused and taken it hour by hour,"
explained Swedish military spokesperson Kristina Swaan.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the situation serious for the 140 soldiers the country has in Iraq, but wouldn't comment on whether it was necessary to bring them home as a precaution.
NATO, which has many of the same members as the anti-IS coalition, has suspended its training operations in Iraq too, spokesman for the alliance Dylan White said. NATO has hundreds of personnel under its aegis in the country.
Comment: U.S. forces are also pausing operations, because Baghdad is
forcing them to:
"After the recent events that have taken place, it was decided to limit the work of US forces in Iraq. The US side has been notified ... They can act only with Iraqi consent, but after such a stab in the back, we will, of course, limit their activities," Khalaf stated.
The spokesman also added that an investigation is currently ongoing to ascertain how the information of Soleimani's movements, such as his flight from Damascus to Baghdad and onward transport from Baghdad International Airport, was shared with the US.
"Yes, an investigation is underway. The investigation will concern everyone who could have had any information inside the [Baghdad International] airport," Khalaf remarked.
He also stated, echoing comments made by Iraqi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yehia Rasool earlier on Saturday, that Iraq had the capability to defend itself, even if NATO suspended military training in the country.
"Iraq is able to cope with this task on its own, as well as with the task of protecting its territory. Of course, coalition forces provided air support, but the Iraqi military did everything else," Khalaf remarked.
But that's not stopping the Americans from sending an
additional 3,000 troops to the region.
And, somewhat ominously, Kataib Hezbollah are
warning Iraqi forces to avoid U.S. bases starting tomorrow evening: "Security forces must stay clear of American bases by a distance not less and a thousand metres starting Sunday evening,"
al-Mayadeen quoted the militia as saying.
Meanwhile, American politicians are chiming in on the idiocy of this move, including NYC Mayor
de Blasio:
Former Virginia State Senator
Richard Black:
In a statement to RT on Friday, retired Virginia Senator Richard Black said the assassination "may presage a new war of aggression — this time, against the Iranian people." Black noted that the commander of the IRGC's Quds Force had led the fight against both Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorists and Al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria. "We are not genuinely fighting a war on terror. I fear that in a sense, we are becoming the terror."
The former senator, who retired at the end of 2019, cautioned against further escalation in the Middle East, recalling a claim predating the 2003 invasion of Iraq that regime change in Tehran was the ultimate objective. "I pray that we draw back from the vast war that looms," Black added. "Neither our soldiers nor our people have a voice to stop it."
Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard:
And Ron Paul:
See also:
Comment: And it's Russia's Christmas, incidentally, so this visit is apparently the Russian version of making a 'surprise visit to inspect the troops'. Except that, in this case, his visit is actually welcomed by the host country...
RT reports: So many winning deals to make - and so many USraeli-started fires to put out - so little time...