USA officials would not put a timeline on reclaiming Mosul but said they expect progress to slow during the summer.
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“The vice president has been the point person on Iraq for the administration since the beginning”, the U.S. official told reporters on Biden’s plane. “They haven’t had a major military victory in more than a year”.
“There can be no greater symbol of the support the Iraqi government gets from the United States in general, and how much faith we have in Prime Minister Abadi specifically, than the vice president of the United States showing up in Baghdad”, an official said in defending the USA backing of Abadi. Thousands have protested just outside Baghdad’s heavily guarded Green Zone, calling for politicians to be replaced by independent technocrats and for Iraq’s powerful Shiite militias to be brought into vital ministries.
Obama said in Saudi Arabia last week that al-Abadi had been a “good partner” but expressed concern about his hold on power. Obama said it was critical that Iraq’s government stabilize and unite competing factions so it can fight terrorism and right its economy. In separate trips, they offered more American aid, more military advisers and firepower.
Vice President Biden made a surprise visit to Iraq Thursday for what aides described as an effort to nurture the Iraqi government and build momentum for the fight against the Islamic State.
The Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins in early June.
The U.S.is also providing Army Apache attack helicopters as part of the effort in Iraq and will be putting a long-range artillery system in southern Turkey to conduct more strikes against ISIS targets in neighboring Syria.
In a speech in Hanover, Germany, on Monday, Obama also said he would press US allies, particularly in Europe, to do more to bring about stability.
The goal: to help Iraqi and Kurdish forces retake Mosul by the end of the year.
The political chaos in Baghdad has made the already complicated politics of planning for such an offensive into treacherous urban terrain even harder.
An administration official also added that the trip serves to counter a “misperception in the region” that Iran has undue influence in the nation. “It is very important that Iraqis decide on a clear plan….What you don’t want is a race to Mosul from a bunch of different forces that end up getting in each other’s way or clashing with each other”. “It’s committed”, he told reporters afterwards. Separately, Obama announced on Monday that the US would deploy 250 additional special operations troops to assist Syrian fighters combating Islamic State militants in that country.
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Today, AP employs the latest technology to collect and distribute content – we have daily uploads covering the latest and breaking news in the world of politics, sport and entertainment. On Tuesday, Iraq’s parliament approved a half dozen new Cabinet ministers al-Abadi nominated in a gesture to protesters, but the rest of the Cabinet lineup remains in contention.
