Israeli strikes raise questions about US presence in Iraq
A suspected Israeli strike against an Iran-backed convoy in Iraq has raised political doubts about the long-term American troop presence there.
The likely spillover of an expanding tit-for-tat between Israel and Iran into Iraq has left the Donald Trump administration nervous about sustaining a long-term US presence in the war-weary nation.
A suspected Israeli strike against an Iran-backed convoy crossing the border between Iraq and Syria on Sunday night prompted the Pentagon to rush out a rare statement denying American involvement. The attack on the convoy, which was en route to Damascus, Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) bases and ammunition dumps, killed nine Shiite militants.
“US forces did not conduct the recent attack on a convoy or any recent attacks that resulted in the explosion of ammunition storage facilities in Iraq,” the Pentagon said on Monday. “Statements to the contrary are false, misleading and inflammatory.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and President Barham Salih quickly decried the airstrikes as an “attack on Iraqi sovereignty.” While the US military has a long-standing invitation from Baghdad to fight the Islamic State, Israel has no formal authorization to conduct cross-border attacks.
