Iraq Never Asks for US Ground Operation: PM Spokesman

The Iraqi government said Wednesday this country didn’t ask for and doesn’t need US direct action on the ground.

The revelation came a day after US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the U.S. may carry out more unilateral ground raids — like last week’s joint rescue operation with Kurdish forces to free ISIS hostages — in Iraq to target ISIS Terrorists.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s spokesman told NBC News that any military involvement in the country must be cleared through the Iraqi government just as U.S.-led airstrikes are.

“This is an Iraqi affair and the government did not ask the U.S. Department of Defense to be involved in direct operations,” spokesman Sa’ad al-Hadithi told NBC News. “We have enough soldiers on the ground.”

He acknowledged the importance of U.S. assistance in Iraq, saying that his country needs American help “arming and training out forces.”
The U.S. currently has around 3,300 troops in Iraq to train and advise Iraqi forces and protect U.S. facilities; NBC News reported.