STUTTGART, Germany — If the U.S. has a “Plan B” in the event Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is toppled from power, Defense Secretary Ash Carter was not sharing it Monday.
The Iraqi capital was shaken Saturday when protesters loyal to the firebrand Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr overran barricades of Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, stormed the parliament and staged a sit-in before leaving the next day.
The audacious demonstration of public displeasure with the current Iraqi leadership plunged the government of Abadi into crisis mode.
But Carter, in remarks to reporters traveling with him to a counter-Islamic State coalition meeting in Germany, expressed confidence the embattled Iraqi leader would survive, and that U.S. efforts to accelerate the campaign against the Islamic State would be unaffected.
Asked if Abadi was in any danger of losing power and if there was a plan B if that were to happen, Carter avoided a direct answer.
“Obviously we support him strongly because of what he stands for,” Carter said. “What he stands for is so self-evidently in the interest of most Iraqis, that idea of a multi-sectarianism state, decentralized, improving its economic as well as its battlefield performance, [that it] has enough support in Iraq that it will win the day.”
The United States has invested much in Abadi’s success, and American officials often tout the fact the U.S. has an effective partner in Iraq, unlike in Syria.
“Prime Minister Abadi stands for and has been a partner in all of that things that are important to Iraq, namely a country that holds together, and doesn’t just spiral off into sectarianism. We know what lies down that road, which is a lot of violence for the Iraqi people, and more opportunity for extremists like ISIL,” Carter said.
Back at the Pentagon on Monday, Defense Department spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said it was “wild speculation” to talk about what the U.S. would do if Abadi fell from power.
Carter is in Germany to attend a change of command ceremony in which Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, the former Korea commander, takes over for Gen. Philip Breedlove as head of European Commander and Supreme Allied Command NATO.
Upon his arrival in Stuttgart late Monday night, Carter released a statement welcoming the latest contribution to the fight against the Islamic State group
Norway announced Monday it will deploy special operations forces to Jordan to train vetted Syrian Arab Sunni fighters and to send a medical team to Northern Iraq.
Carter called the added forces “a welcome contribution from a stalwart ally,” which he says “bolsters the coalition at a critical moment in the campaign.”
Norway has been invited to participate in Wednesday’s meeting in Stuttgart with countries in the lead in the anti-Islamic State campaign.
The meeting is intended “to assess the state of the campaign, discuss the next steps in the fight and determine what additional capabilities we will need to accelerate ISIL’s defeat,” according to Carter’s statement.
Jacqueline Klimas contributed to this report.
