US CENTCOM commander discusses security ties in visit to Iraq

The visit of US Central Command Gen. Frank McKenzie to Baghdad this week comes as the United States restructures and consolidates force posture while bringing in more NATO advisers.
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - MARCH 13: Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, talks to journalists about the military response to rocket attacks that killed two U.S. and one U.K. service members in Iraq during a news briefing at the Pentagon March 13, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. Because of the threat of transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Pentagon is exercising social distancing by keeping reporters' chairs four feet apart from each other during briefings. (Pho
Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of the US Central Command, talks to journalists about the military response to rocket attacks in Iraq that killed three service members — two from the United States and one from the UK — during a news briefing at the Pentagon, March 13, 2020, in Arlington, Virginia. - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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Jared Szuba
@JM_Szuba

Head of United States Central Command Gen. Frank McKenzie, after meeting with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Baghdad, told reporters he is “confident” the Iraqi government will request that some US forces remain in the country.

“The government of Iraq recognizes the true value that the coalition brings to the fight against Daesh (another name for ISIS) in Iraq, and I believe that going forward, they're going to want us to be with them,” McKenzie said.

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