Washington explains the reasons for the decision to reduce its diplomatic presence in Iraq

[size=35][size=35]Washington reveals the reasons for the "diplomatic cut" in Iraq[/size]
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2019-12-19 | 03:09
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The official stressed that the United States embassy in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] "remains the largest American embassy in terms of the number of American employees in the Middle East", stressing that the American side "continues to work in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and that the ambassador and his team are doing an excellent job by engaging with civil society and all the parties", and that " The United States has enough personnel to do that. "

He continued that his country's mission in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] "is to protect, defend and try to build the sovereignty of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] where people like Soleimani will not have the influence and decision that he has now."

Last week, Foreign Policy magazine reported that the US State Department sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee detailed plans for a large and permanent reduction in the number of US diplomats in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] .


According to the magazine, the American mission in [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] will reduce the number of employees at the embassy in Baghdad, [url=https://www.alsumaria.tv/Entity/119748902/%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%B2 %D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%B9%D9%85 %D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A8%D9%84%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A/ar/]the diplomatic support center[/url] , and the consulate in Erbil in the Kurdistan region, from 486 to 349, or 28 percent, until the end of 2020.

According to Foreign Policy, most of the employees Those who will leave will be from the State Department team, but other government agencies, including the Department of Defense and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will also reduce their embassy staff.


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[size=52]Forn Pauli: Washington has reduced its diplomatic presence to 349 employees[/size]

[size=45]Translation: Hamed Ahmed
[size=45]The Foreign Policy Magazine revealed that the US State Department this month sent detailed plans to Congress to suddenly and permanently reduce the number of American diplomats in Iraq, a move that critics say directly contradicts the Trump administration's aims to resist Iran's influence in the country and undermine Washington's efforts to consolidate The stability of the Iraqi government.[/size]
[size=45]Documents sent by the State Department to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee shed new light on the ministry’s decision earlier in the year to reduce the number of diplomats and a number of other American employees in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]According to the document, which was viewed by Foreign Policy, by May 2020, the US diplomatic mission in Iraq will reduce the number of its staff at the embassy and diplomatic support center and consulate in Erbil from 486 people to 349, i.e. a reduction of 28%, including 137 individuals.[/size]
[size=45]The majority of the reduced staff will be from the State Department and employees of other government departments who work in the embassy, ​​as the document includes, including military personnel from the Ministry of Defense and employees from the United States Agency for International Development, USAID.[/size]
[size=45]The Trump administration's downsizing of the US embassy comes in conjunction with political instability in Iraq amid anti-government protests, as well as amid its efforts to stave off Iranian influence in the country. After nearly 16 years of military engagement in the country, the United States still maintains nearly 6,000 American soldiers in Iraq after the military campaign launched against ISIS and spent nearly $ 1.5 billion in aid to the country in 2018.[/size]
[size=45]In the documents that I sent to the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, James Rasj, the US State Department affirms that the new cut in its diplomatic cadres "will allow the mission in Iraq to continue to achieve its primary goals and conduct an effective monitoring of its programs."[/size]
[size=45]But critics scoffed at the move. "It appears that the administration believes that we can control a tense situation in Iraq with a skeleton crew of diplomats," Chris Murphy, a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations for the Middle East, said in an interview with Foren Paulsy. It may not be planning to reduce the number of embassy staff that happened by coincidence with the exposure of Iraq to a crisis, and we have to find a way to avoid this quickly. And if we do not do so, I fear that Iraq will continue to slip into a crisis without finding a political solution and we will be in a bad position in our defense of the interests of our national security. ”[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, a US State Department spokesman said in an interview with Foren Pulsey: "Ensuring the safety of employees of the United States government and American citizens working abroad is one of our highest priorities. Our embassy in Baghdad and our consulate in Erbil are open for business, and that Ambassador Matthew Toller and his team are on the ground running their daily business. ”[/size]
[size=45]"Iraq is one of our most important strategic partners in the region, and we pledged full cooperation with our Iraqi partners and the Iraqi people to support a united, democratic, and prosperous Iraq," the spokesman added.[/size]
[size=45]Since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States embassy in Baghdad has expanded to a huge complex on a wide area of ​​land that includes thousands of logistical personnel, contractors, and security personnel. Despite the huge size of the embassy and its employees, a small part of them are affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and even a smaller number are still working in purely diplomatic works, including political and economic cadres.[/size]
[size=45]These small numbers, the documents show, will shrink more than they were before the evictions ordered by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The number of political officers in the embassy will decrease by 30%, that is, from 10 to 7 officers. As for the number of consulate members, they will decrease by 58%, from 12 to five, and officers concerned with political and military affairs will reduce their number by 33%, that is, from six to four. As for the Pentagon, it will reduce the number of its affiliates from the soldiers in charge of protecting the embassy in Baghdad from 111 to 63, while the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, will withdraw 11 of its 19 members.[/size]
[size=45]In May, US Secretary of State Pompeo directed an emergency evacuation of the cadres of the US diplomatic mission in Iraq, other than the main elements, in response to unconfirmed threats from Iran.[/size]
[size=45]Some of the personalities within the US government had already sounded the alarm about the adverse consequences that would arise from the reduction in the number of non-military American affiliates. A government monitoring report issued last month confirmed that the order to leave the staff of the International Development Agency had a serious adverse impact on the activities of planning, management and follow-up programs in Iraq, where USAID runs humanitarian assistance programs in the country estimated at more than $ 1 billion.[/size]
[size=45]Last year, the Trump administration closed the United States consulate in Basra, southern Iraq. Timmy Davis, a senior US diplomat at the consulate, opposed the decision to close the consulate through official channels at the State Department before the order was finally implemented.[/size]
[size=45]About: Forn Pulsi[/size]


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