{"id":65454,"date":"2019-01-09T17:00:57","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T17:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/09\/pompeo-visits-iraq-on-his-mideast-tour-amid-confusion-over-us-plans\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:19:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:19:31","slug":"pompeo-visits-iraq-on-his-mideast-tour-amid-confusion-over-us-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/2019\/01\/09\/pompeo-visits-iraq-on-his-mideast-tour-amid-confusion-over-us-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"Pompeo visits Iraq on his Mideast tour amid confusion over US plans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BAGHDAD \u2014 U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/12\/31\/timetable-of-trumps-pullout-from-syria-being-questioned\/\">Secretary of State Mike Pompeo<\/a> visited Iraq on Wednesday in an unannounced stop on his Mideast tour meant to promote the White House\u2019s hard-line position on Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The trip comes amid confusion over conflicting statements by President Donald Trump and senior U.S. officials about a planned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2019\/01\/08\/are-we-leaving-syria-or-not\/\">U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria<\/a>, where Iran is backing President Bashar Assad in that country\u2019s civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pompeo and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi discussed efforts to ensure the \u201clasting defeat throughout the region\u201d of the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2019\/01\/08\/fate-of-detained-isis-fighters-uncertain-as-us-exits-syria\/\"> Islamic State group,<\/a> whose tactics have shifted to guerrilla warfare after losing nearly all of the territory the militants once controlled in Iraq and Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2019\/01\/08\/are-we-leaving-syria-or-not\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5005541.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Are we leaving Syria or not?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. military is still fighting ISIS, and the mission in Syria shows no signs of ending anytime soon, officials say.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two also discussed American support for Iraq&#8217;s energy independence, said Deputy State Department Spokesman Robert Palladino. Iraq imports electricity and natural gas from Iran to meet its energy needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Jordan on Tuesday, Pompeo said the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/2018\/12\/19\/us-troops-are-leaving-but-isis-is-not-defeated-in-syria\/\">pullout <\/a>would not detract from U.S. efforts to contain Iran\u2019s considerable clout in the region. The White House reinstated sanctions against Iran last year for allegedly violating the 2015 nuclear deal championed by former President Barack Obama. International nuclear inspectors had said there was no evidence that Iran was violating the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pompeo on Wednesday also met with Iraqi President Barham Salih, Foreign Minister Mohamed Alhakim and Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi. He stressed the U.S.&#8217;s support for strong, bi-lateral relations based on the 2008 Strategic Framework Agreement between the two countries, five years after the U.S. invasion that deposed former dictator Saddam Hussein and plunged Iraq into civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pompeo\u2019s visit is the third high-profile visit by an American official to Iraq in the last month. Iraqi politicians were incensed when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/12\/27\/iraqi-lawmakers-demand-us-withdraw-its-troops-after-trumps-surprise-visit-2\/\">Trump last month made an unscheduled visit<\/a> to a U.S. base in western Iraq without also meeting Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, as his predecessors Obama and George W. Bush had done.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2018\/12\/27\/iraqi-lawmakers-demand-us-withdraw-its-troops-after-trumps-surprise-visit-2\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18360750787908.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Iraqi lawmakers demand US withdraw its troops after Trump\u2019s surprise visit<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Trump, making his first presidential visit to troops in a conflict zone, said he has no plans to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump said on his<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/12\/26\/president-trump-first-lady-make-surprise-iraq-visit\/\"> Dec. 26 visit<\/a> that the United States could use its bases in Iraq as a platform for continued operations against the Islamic State group in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The visit left lawmakers smarting and prompted calls to annul a 2014 agreement that brought U.S. forces back to Iraq. Some 5,200 U.S. troops are now stationed in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier in December, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry urged Iraq to sever its energy dependence on Iran and open its energy sector to American investment. He was in Baghdad with a trade delegation arranged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pompeo was expected in Cairo later on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Cairo contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The secretary of state is promoting the U.S. stance on ISIS defeat and Iran containment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":102025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":16,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,13,16,26],"tags":[],"coauthors":[287],"class_list":["post-65454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"IXBQUPFCYVHGHIJVX6F7ORF3W4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2019\/01\/09\/pompeo-visits-iraq-on-his-mideast-tour-amid-confusion-over-us-plans\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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