Monitoring desk
\nBaghdad
\nIraqi political and militia leaders condemned US President Donald Trump\u2019s surprise visit to US troops in Iraq on Wednesday as a violation of Iraq\u2019s sovereignty, and lawmakers said a meeting between Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was canceled due to a disagreement over venue.
\nSabah al Saadi, the leader of the Islah parliamentary bloc, called for an emergency session of parliament \u201cto discuss this blatant violation of Iraq\u2019s sovereignty and to stop these aggressive actions by Trump who should know his limits: The US occupation of Iraq is over.\u201d
\nThe Bina bloc, Islah\u2019s rival in parliament and led by Iran-backed militia leader Hadi al-Amiri, also objected to Trump\u2019s trip to Iraq.
\n\u201cTrump\u2019s visit is a flagrant and clear violation of diplomatic norms and shows his disdain and hostility in his dealings with the Iraqi government,\u201d said a statement from Bina.
\nAbdul Mahdi\u2019s office said in a statement that U.S. authorities had informed Iraq\u2019s leadership of the president\u2019s visit ahead of time. The statement said the Iraqi prime minister and U.S. president talked by telephone due to a \u201cdisagreement over how to conduct the meeting.\u201d
\nIraqi lawmakers told Reuters that the pair had disagreed over where their planned meeting should take place: Trump had asked to meet at the Ain al-Asad military base, an offer which Abdul Mahdi declined.
\nTrump\u2019s visit comes amid a backdrop of escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, as Washington seeks to counter Iran\u2019s sway in the Middle East. The formation of Iraq\u2019s government has stalled as well amid intensifying discord between the Islah and Bina blocs.
\nFalih Khazali, a former militia leader turned politician allied with Bina, accused the United States of wanting to increase its presence in Iraq. \u201cThe American leadership was defeated in Iraq and wants to return again under any pretext, and this is what we will never allow,\u201d he said.
\nBina said Trump\u2019s visit \u201cplaces many question marks on the nature of the US military presence and its real objectives, and what these objectives could pose to the security of Iraq.\u201d
\nWhile there has been no full-scale violence in Iraq since Daesh suffered a series of defeats last year, some 5,200 US troops train and advise Iraqi forces still waging a campaign against the militant group.<\/p>\n
Islah is headed by Moqtada al-Sadr Sadr who has long opposed the US presence in Iraq since the US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. He led two uprisings against US forces in Iraq and is one of the few Shia leaders to also distance himself from Iran.<\/p>\n
Iraq\u2019s militias, also known as the PMF, many of which are supported by Iran, oppose the presence of US troops in the region. The PMF was made formally part of the security forces this year after helping the military defeat Daesh in Iraq in 2017.<\/p>\n
Qais al-Khazali, the leader of the powerful Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia said on Twitter, \u201cIraqis will respond with a parliamentary decision to oust your (US) military forces. And if they do not leave, we have the experience and the ability to remove them by other means that your forces are familiar with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some Iraqis, however, were less concerned with the US president\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe won\u2019t get anything from America,\u201d said Baghdad resident Mohammad Abdullah. \u201cThey\u2019ve been in Iraq 16 years, and they haven\u2019t given anything to the country except destruction and devastation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Monitoring desk Baghdad Iraqi political and militia leaders condemned US President Donald Trump\u2019s surprise visit to US troops in Iraq on Wednesday as a violation of Iraq\u2019s sovereignty, and lawmakers said a meeting between Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was canceled due to a disagreement over venue. Sabah al Saadi, the leader […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42580,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n