The US State Department intends to phase out a network of embassy branch offices in Iraq within three years of the US military’s departure next year, the administration’s choice as the next ambassador to Baghdad told Congress on Tuesday.
James Jeffrey, currently the US ambassador to Turkey, told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee at his confirmation hearing that a program of police training, to be run by the State Department beginning next year, was also scheduled to be phased out in three to five years.
He said that he would shrink the permanent US diplomatic presence in the embassy in Baghdad, an office overseeing US military sales to Iraq plus one consulate in the north and south.
US troop levels are scheduled to drop to 50,000 by the end of next month. By the same date, the State Department is scheduled to replace the military as the lead US government presence in the country.
US troop levels are scheduled to drop to zero by Dec. 31 next year.
As the withdrawal of military forces proceeds, an existing network of 16 military-civilian posts, known as provincial reconstruction teams, will be transformed into a combination of three embassy branch offices and two consulates, Jeffrey said.
The State Department, rather than the US military, will provide security for the five remaining offices, he said
Jeffrey said polls showed most Iraqis wanted US troops to leave, but the US would remain committed to working with Iraq as a partner in promoting regional peace and stability.
“This commitment first of all has been sealed in blood and treasure, both Iraqi and American,” he said.
Jeffrey spoke optimistically about prospects for breaking the political deadlock over the formation of a new Iraqi government.
Elections in March failed to produce a clear-cut winner and political wrangling has yet to determine whether Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will remain in power.
Jeffrey declined to predict how long the impasse might last but suggested there was reason to hope a solution would be found soon.
At any rate, the US is deliberately taking no direct role, he said.
“Any direct involvement by outside actors is typically ... something that the Iraqis basically don’t like to see,” he said.
If confirmed by the Senate, as expected, Jeffrey will succeed Christopher Hill as the chief US diplomat in Baghdad.
The US Foreign Relations Committee also considered the nomination of Francis Ricciardone Jr to succeed Jeffrey as US ambassador to Turkey.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
‘MOBILIZED’: While protesters countered ICE agents, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the state’s National Guard to ‘support the rights of Minnesotans’ to assemble Hundreds of counterprotesters drowned out a far-right activist’s attempt to hold a small rally in support of US President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Saturday, as the governor’s office announced that National Guard troops were mobilized and ready to assist law enforcement, although not yet deployed to city streets. There have been protests every day since the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers. Conservative influencer Jake Lang organized an anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
NASA on Saturday rolled out its towering Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft as it began preparations for its first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years. The maneuver, which takes up to 12 hours, would allow the US space agency to begin a string of tests for the Artemis 2 mission, which could blast off as early as Feb. 6. The immense orange and white SLS rocket, and the Orion vessel were slowly wheeled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and painstakingly moved 6.5km to Launch Pad 39B. If the
RSS