Iraqi Ambassador in Washington: Difficult to fight ISIS without U.S. support
Ambassador Faily spoke with Al Hurra TV to discuss the ongoing events in Iraq.
On July 31, 2014, Ambassador Lukman Faily spoke with Al Hurra TV to discuss the relationship between Iraq and the United States and the ongoing events in Iraq.
Ambassador Faily spoke about the significance of keeping Iraq unified, saying, “We have democracy underway, and the formation of the Iraqi government has taken a shorter period of time compared to the 2010 formation process. It is also consistent with the timeframe stated in the Iraqi constitution.”
The Ambassador discussed the importance of the pivotal role of the United States in defeating ISIS: “The United States is our strategic partner of choice, but the current situation has pushed Iraq to seek help from other countries. However, we are asking the United States to ramp up its efforts to address the implications and threats posed by the rise of ISIS in Iraq, in accordance with the Strategic Framework Agreement between the two countries.”
The Ambassador noted that Iraqis are requesting military equipment and airstrikes, but not combat forces.
Ambassador Faily called on Iraq’s neighbor countries to understand Iraq’s position and not to intervene in its internal issues; moreover to be aware that tolerating terrorism in one country will not stop the cross-border flow of these transnational terrorist groups to the whole region.
