Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi spent his first visit to Washington playing down the notion that he was coming hat in hand to President Obama with specific requests for billions in military aircraft and equipment from the U.S.
Instead, he made a much broader, looser appeal for increased U.S.-led airstrikes, timely delivery of F-16 fighter jets already in the pipeline, more training and advising for Iraqi security forces, and an undefined level of assistance with a dream project — an $18 billion export oil pipeline through Jordan to the Red Sea.
Vice President Joe Biden held a meeting with the U.S.-Iraq Higher Coordinating Committee Thursday focused on energy and economic cooperation.
The White House released a statement late Friday noting that the two sides discussed “steps Iraq can take to increase energy exports and establish additional export routes form its southern facilities, including an export pipeline through Jordan to the Red Sea.”
They also agreed on the need to work closely together to “garner immediate international support to stabilize areas liberated from [Islamic State] terrorists, including through an international stabilization fund to be established by the government of Iraq in cooperation with the United Nations.”
There was no mention of how much money the U.S. would contribute — if any — to either effort.
The ambiguity allowed the White House to minimize any major new U.S. commitments as Obama’s request for congressional war powers authorization languishes on Capitol Hill. But it also left Washington trying to assess the state of the Iraqi army, which has had a rough time gaining back ground from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. American political leaders are also wary of Iran’s growing influence in Baghdad as Iran and its proxies do much of the heavy lifting in the battle against the self-described Sunni caliphate that now controls a large area of both Syria and Iraq.
Abadi’s visit began Tuesday, as the White House and Pentagon were hailing the success of a joint effort to expel the Islamic State from Tikrit, but it ended Thursday amid new concerns about the terrorist group’s offensive to the west of Baghdad.
Some Iraq observers argue that more U.S. resources are needed but doubt Obama, who came to office pledging to pull the U.S. out of the region, is willing to step up his commitment beyond the U.S.-led air campaign.
“I think Iraq needs help with training, with F16s indeed, with replenishment of equipment stocks captured by ISIL, and perhaps also with helicopters,” said Brookings Institution senior fellow Michael O’Hanlon.
Hanlon also suggested general financial assistance to compensate for lower oil revenues that have slowed Iraq’s economy. He conceded that subsidizing Abadi’s beleaguered government may be “a bridge too far for the White House.”
“The bottom line is that whether or not there was a specific wish list, there are lots more things Iraq would logically want — lots more, in fact, than we can realistically be asked to fund,” he said.
Still, O’Hanlon said the United States should seriously consider helping underwrite the creation of an Iraqi National Guard that can help hold the country’s fraying regions together. Abadi last year proposed the idea but has had more immediate problems to confront.
Abadi, a Shiite who succeeded Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister of the embattled state in September, struck a conciliatory tone with Americans during his three days in Washington and tried to take a strong stance against an unfettered Iranian role in both the fight against the Sunni Islamic State and the country’s future.
He thanked U.S. troops for their sacrifice and pledged to ensure it would not be in vain. Abadi Thursday decried the presence of a top Iranian commander in his country as a “bad idea” and sought to minimize his differences with Saudi Arabia. These comments came one day after he provoked concerns about a broad Shiite-Sunni conflict in the region by criticizing the Saudi air campaign in Yemen — where the Saudis are assisting the remnant of the Sunni government against Shia rebels who control the capital.
While calling for greater U.S. support in fighting the Islamic State, Abadi stopped short of making public requests for specific aircraft or weapons.
“We don’t have a list in that regard,” he told a forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Thursday morning.
He also pleaded with the United States and other allies to do more to stop the flow of Islamic State recruits into Syria and then across the border and into Iraq.
Republicans, however, said the Obama administration needs to commit to stepping up its investments in Iraq or risk seeing Iran step in to fill the vacuum and extend its influence.
“I think the Iraqi army is woefully unprepared for the fight,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told the Washington Examiner Thursday. “I think airstrikes have helped but the on-the-ground capability of the Iraqis has deteriorated, and I guess he’s just going to rely on support from Iran.”
Graham also suggested that the Obama administration discouraged Abadi from airing a wish list during the visit.
“Maybe he was told not to ask,” Graham said, noting that he was on his way to a meeting with the Iraqi defense minister to discuss the matter further. “I think this administration is trying to continue a narrative on Iraq that’s just delusional. They’re trying to not get him to ask for more equipment from them because it would make them look bad — that would be my best guess.”
“Any objective observer would say their capability vis-à-vis ISIL is not where it needs to be, and the longer they’re without capability, the more likely Iran gets a foothold in Iraq,” he continued.
Democrats argue that Obama is rightfully taking a cautious approach to a very complicated geo-political dynamic in the region.
“There are so many cross-points,” Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., told the Examiner in a brief interview. “Here we are trying to negotiate with Iran and we’re on one side of the conflict in one country and are on the other side of the conflict in another country.”
McCaskill, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, was contrasting the effective cooperation between America and Iran in fighting the Islamic State in Iraq with the fight in Yemen, where Washington supports Saudi airstrikes and Tehran backs the Houthi insurgents.
“I think the president is just trying to be cautious but provide the air support they need,” she said. “Obviously they’re doing better so I don’t know if it’s a turning point or not, but it’s better.”
