US commander decisions being made to ‘best protect’ troops in Iraq: Pentagon spox
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Chief Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Rath Hoffman has said US troop movement decisions in Iraq made by field commanders are to prioritize personnel safety, in response to a question fielded by Rudaw’s Washington correspondent Namo Abdullah at a Pentagon press conference.
Namo Abdullah: I have two questions, one on Iraq. You described a number of domestic threats that can be posed to your troops in Iraq in addition to the ballistic missiles from Iran. Have you considered moving your troops to a safer place in Iraq, such as the Kurdistan Region, where you don't appear to have those domestic militia threats?
Secondly, on Syria, Russians appear to be sending more troops to the Hasaka province, where you have some troops stationed. Is that coordinated with the United States and can you please update us what the mission of the United States is in Syria?
Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Jonathan Rath Hoffman: With regards to Iraq, I think what you saw, and the commander on the ground makes the determinations on where he felt he could best protect his forces, and so we did some movement in the previous weeks to both consolidate and disperse our people. I know that kind seems counterintuitive but to get them into safer areas, and so that took place. We will defer questions on where our forces will be in Iraq to the commander on the ground, where he believes is necessary to have our forces to be able to conduct both the training and de-ISIS mission.
With regards to Syria, we have no information for you on Russian troop movements. Our mission in Syria remains the same, to continue to degrade ISIS ability conduct operations in the region as well as to further operations.
Namo Abdullah: I have two questions, one on Iraq. You described a number of domestic threats that can be posed to your troops in Iraq in addition to the ballistic missiles from Iran. Have you considered moving your troops to a safer place in Iraq, such as the Kurdistan Region, where you don't appear to have those domestic militia threats?
Secondly, on Syria, Russians appear to be sending more troops to the Hasaka province, where you have some troops stationed. Is that coordinated with the United States and can you please update us what the mission of the United States is in Syria?
Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Jonathan Rath Hoffman: With regards to Iraq, I think what you saw, and the commander on the ground makes the determinations on where he felt he could best protect his forces, and so we did some movement in the previous weeks to both consolidate and disperse our people. I know that kind seems counterintuitive but to get them into safer areas, and so that took place. We will defer questions on where our forces will be in Iraq to the commander on the ground, where he believes is necessary to have our forces to be able to conduct both the training and de-ISIS mission.
With regards to Syria, we have no information for you on Russian troop movements. Our mission in Syria remains the same, to continue to degrade ISIS ability conduct operations in the region as well as to further operations.