The White House insisted Monday that the political chaos seen in Iraq over the weekend, including the storming of a barricaded area by protesters, will have no impact on the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State.
“Based on the briefings I have received this morning, our national security professionals have not detected any impact on our efforts to go after ISIL,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Monday, using another acronym for the Islamic State.
In recent weeks, the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition has conducted 59 strikes in Iraq’s Anbar province and provided ongoing training and assistance, which has continued “unabated,” Earnest said.
Whether to proceed with a major offensive to retake Mosul from the Islamic State will depend on the Iraqi government and the recommendations of its military commanders, Earnest said.
“We continue to respect the sovereignty of this independent nation and we continue to work with them to carry out ongoing military operations to degrade and destroy [the Islamic State] and plan future military operations,” Earnest said.
Over the weekend, Muqtada al-Sadr-directed protesters penetrated Baghdad’s Green Zone, the home of Iraq’s central government, its parliament, and the U.S. embassy, among other government institutions. They were there to demand an end to corruption in Prime Minister Haider Abadi’s government.
The protest raised new questions about Baghdad’s security situation, the state of Abadi’s government, and Sadr’s powerful influence over certain sectors of Iraqi’s community. After a day of sleeping, praying and evening swimming in the Green Zone, the protesters left peacefully Sunday at Sadr’s urging.
The storming of the Green Zone came just two days after Vice President Joe Biden made his first trip to Iraq in four years.
That visit, Earnest said, “underscores the significance of the challenges that face Iraq right now” and the U.S. financial commitment to Iraq.
“President Abadi has demonstrated a commitment to prioritizing a government philosophy that unites the country … a multi-sectarian Iraq and he has governed consistent with that vision,” Earnest said.
