AFP: US Vice President appreciates Kurds and ignores the federal authority in Baghdad

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[rtl]BAGHDAD (Reuters) - US Vice President Mike Pence showed an appreciation to Kurdish officials in the Kurdistan region for "ignoring" federal authorities in Baghdad in a surprise, unannounced secret visit on Saturday, AFP news agency reported.[/rtl]





[rtl]Pence made a quick visit to Iraq, which included inspecting his country's forces and meeting officials of the Kurdistan region without officials of the central authority in Baghdad, amid protests against the political class, which also affected the influential Iran in Mesopotamia, and Washington has remained largely silent about it.[/rtl]



[rtl]"On his first visit to Iraq as vice president, Pence landed at the al-Assad base in Anbar province on Saturday noon, and celebrated with soldiers the Thanksgiving Day, which the United States salutes next week."[/rtl]



[rtl]Pence is the most senior US official to visit Iraq since President Donald Trump did so in late December 2018, a visit that was limited to spending a few hours with US forces at the base of Ein al-Assad.[/rtl]



[rtl]She pointed out that Trump's visit aroused controversy at the time that it did not include the meeting of any Iraqi official.[/rtl]



[rtl]Pence called Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi from al-Assad's base before moving to Erbil to meet with President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani.[/rtl]



[rtl]A US official who accompanied Pence said that the latter visited the Kurdistan region to "express appreciation" Washington to the Syrian Democratic Forces and Kurdish fighters who "suffered great losses," in order to "tell them we are with you."[/rtl]



[rtl]Pence is the first US official at this level to visit the Kurdistan region since Washington announced the withdrawal of troops from northern Syria, which paved the way for the implementation of Turkish forces and pro-Syrian Syrian factions on the ninth of last October, a large-scale attack on Kurdish forces in northern Syria.[/rtl]



[rtl]Pence, in his name and Trump, highlighted the role of the Kurds as "important US allies in the region," the KRG said, adding that the meeting discussed "continued US support for Peshmerga forces in the fight against ISIS terrorism, which remains a serious threat."[/rtl]



[rtl]In response to a question about not visiting the Iraqi capital, a US official who accompanied Pence pointed out that "security reasons" behind it, explaining that Pence urges Abdul Mahdi to "disengage from Iran."[/rtl]



[rtl]The Prime Minister's Office said that he was aware of Pence's visit to Ein al-Assad and Erbil, and they discussed strengthening relations and "developments in Iraq and the government's efforts and reform measures in response to the demands of the demonstrators."[/rtl]



[rtl]Pence's visit comes amid demonstrations in Baghdad and several areas of the south of the country for nearly two months, which saw many demonstrators criticized Iran for its wide influence in Iraqi politics, and supported by many armed factions.[/rtl]



[rtl]The Trump administration has been largely silent about unprecedented protests against a regime it helped establish after the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein.[/rtl]



[rtl]After the invasion, Washington dissolved and rebuilt the majority of the state apparatus and the Iraqi army, and forged close ties with the new political class.[/rtl]



[rtl]A senior Iraqi official, who asked not to be identified in previous statements to AFP, said, "The gap between Iraq and America has never been as great as it has now, and is still growing.[/rtl]





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