Special American forces arrived at Al Asad Airbase in Anbar on Wednesday (January 20) to aid Iraqi joint forces in the liberation of West Anbar from Islamic State.
The arrival of the soldiers triggered mixed reaction from Iraqi politicians. Some were dismissive of the help, while others welcomed the arrival.
“We welcome any international effort to liberate our areas and eliminate terrorism and ISIS. There is news of international forces landing at one of the military airbases which happened with the Iraqi government’s knowledge, so that the liberation operation will be faster and the displaced citizens can return to their homes faster as well,” said Abdul Qahar Mahdi Alsamaraie, a local government official in Salahuddin Province.
However some opponents saw their presence as not necessary because, in their view, the Iraqi army and counter terrorism unit were already doing a good job.
“The arrival of any foreign force to Iraq must be a decision made by the Iraqi House of Representatives, not only the commander of the armed forces. I think the popular group, security forces and the counter terrorism teams are achieving victory with the advancement of fighting fronts. There is no need for those special forces who want to take the credit of victory from the Iraqi army and therefore, as citizens, we refuse those forces since our forces are more than qualified for these operations,” said Iraqi MP, Alia Nassif.
The new deployment was announced by U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter said on Wednesday.
It marks the latest expansion of U.S. military pressure on Islamic State. It also exposes American forces to greater risk, something President Barack Obama has done only sparingly.
The force is separate from another deployment last year of up to 50 U.S. special operations troops in Syria to co-ordinate on the ground with U.S.-backed rebels fighting in a civil war raging since 2011. (Reuters)