Shutting down US embassy in Baghdad can be 'dangerous' and 'counterproductive': Diplomats

As the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo warned the Iraqi administration that the US was prepared to permanently shut its embassy in Baghdad unless Iraq averted the rocket strikes, the Iraqi diplomats said that the counterproductive measure could turn Iraq into a battle zone. While Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi sworn protection for the 25 top diplomats post Trump administration’s pullout threat, Iraq’s foreign minister urged for the US to reconsider its decision in a statement as it could prove to be a disaster for the US’ long-standing diplomatic mission in Baghdad. 

Iraqi government and its group of ambassadors, last week, expressed grave concerns as they claimed to tackle Iraq’s security situation in the wake of US warnings that sparked an alarm. At a state news conference, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party Fuad Hussein said that the US government and Trump administration were in process of making a wrong decision given the armed militias perpetrating in the region. He further urged the US government to reconsider its decision.

Calling the threats of the US embassy shut down as “dangerous”, Hussein warned that US President’s step would lead to the withdrawal of other embassies in Iraq. This is a faulty and a counterproductive step, Hussein said at a live-streamed address, adding, diplomats in Washington drew parallels with Benghazi, and that was disastrous on so many levels. 

In a hasty phone call to President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi earlier last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered the ultimatum, saying, the US has initiated the preliminary steps to shut the embassy over the next two to three months along with the withdrawal of American troops from the conflict-driven region. However, Pompeo mentioned retaining US consulate in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region of Iraq, according to sources of NBC. Further, the Trump administration cited the Shiite militias against American interests as the reason for its prom step.

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'Element of risk' in Iraq

As per separate sources of Anadolu Agency, two top Iraqi officials on condition of anonymity confirmed that Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone recently became the target of mortar attacks by the Iran-backed Shiite militias against Iraqi military bases housing US troops and US embassy in Baghdad. US further advised the Iraqi foreign ministry to act decisively, calling its protection response to the US as “inefficiently satisfying Washington”. 

Meanwhile, Marine Gen. Kenneth "Frank" McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, in a recent interview with NBC broadcaster appreciated Iraqi security forces in safeguarding US interests, emphasizing the “element of risk”. He acknowledged Iraqi troops’ responsiveness. However, in a state press address, the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the US, saying, withdrawal of US forces from the region was a "collective duty, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported. 

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(Image Credit: AP)