Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi Thursday knocked down reports that he came to Washington asking President Obama for billions of dollars in drones, helicopters and other military equipment.
Media reports in the days before Abadi’s visit began Tuesday quoted anonymous Iraqi officials laying out specific requests for unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters and other equipment.
But Abadi, during a question and answer session at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he didn’t know where those media reports came from.
“Even the [Obama] administration asked us for the request … we didn’t make that statement,” he said, referring to the anonymous source quoted in one of the stories. “We don’t have a list.”
Abadi went on to say that the Iraqi security forces have two divisions under training that need heavy equipment and there was a prior request for F-16s, but the administration had previously already agreed to it.
Iraq’s major concern is that the F-16s be delivered on time, he said.
During his one-on-one with Obama on Tuesday, Abadi, who succeeded Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister of the embattled state in September, said he also discussed ways in which the United States can “accelerate and make the air campaign more precise and effective.” U.S. forces are currently helping the Iraqi army and other groups fighting the Islamic State, which controls a large area of Iraq and Syria. This lacks congressional authorization, however, and Obama’s request for a vote on the use of force is languishing on Capitol Hill.
“But the atmosphere was very cooperative and in my opinion we’re all on the same page on this,” he said, noting the importance of restoring local police to areas retaken from the Islamic State.
Asked about Iran’s involvement in Iraq’s fight against the Islamic State, Abadi, a Shiite and leader of Iraq’s Islamic Dawa Party, engaged in a bit of a balancing act.
Abadi pledged to take aggressive judicial action against all militias, Iran-sponsored and otherwise, who engage in human rights violations in areas they helped retake from the Islamic State. But he made clear that he welcomes Tehran’s assistance in the fight against the Sunni terrorist caliphate — so long as Iran doesn’t meddle in his government and Iraq’s efforts to become more democratic.
He said the high profile of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Iraq is a “bad propaganda move” but said he has no intention of “quarreling” with Iran or other neighbors. Soleimani has led Iran’s war against the Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq — where Soleimani was widely credited with stopping the Islamic State’s surge in 2014.
“We have the longest border with Iran,” he said. “We don’t intend to quarrel with Iran … we intend to live in peace with our neighbors. Having said that, Iraq’s sovereignty is of upmost importance.”
