Angry at an attack seen as violating Iraqi illusory sovereignty and enmeshing the country again in war, Iraq's caretaker prime minister asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late Thursday to send a delegation to begin withdrawal arrangements.
The State Department said it was ready for "a conversation" ‐ but not about removing troops.
"At this time, any delegation sent to Iraq would be dedicated to discussing how to best recommit to our strategic partnership ‐ not to discuss troop withdrawal, but our right, appropriate force posture in the Middle East," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.
Calling the United States "a force for good," she said: "We want to be a friend and partner to a sovereign, prosperous and stable Iraq."
President Donald Trump
...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US...has described the 2003 US invasion of Iraq as a mistake and in the past criticised US troop deployments, in Iraq and elsewhere, as wasteful.