"These air defense systems would protect the region from ballistic missiles from Iran,” said the former spokesperson.
August 25, 2023. Hellas.
Retired US Army Col. Myles B. Caggins III, a former spokesman for the US-led Coalition in Iraq and a senior fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, on Friday gave an exclusive interview with Kurdistan 24 in which he touched upon many pressing issues.
Regarding
the presence of ISIS in Syria, Caggins III revealed that the international Coalition
is working with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to address the ongoing
threat of ISIS radicalization in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
“There are
ten thousand ISIS fighters detained in northern east Syria and they are in more
than 20 camps and then we have about fifty thousand ISIS family members in
al-Hol and Al Roj Camps,” he said and noted, “The US and the Coalition are
helping the SDF with financial assistance, training for the Asayish and also
medical assistance.”
“The
children’s number one influence are their mothers and so the mothers are
infecting their minds with ISIS ideology,” he stated.
Concerning
a potential conflict between the US and Iran and the recent influx of US troops
in Iraq, Caggins III reaffirmed that there would be no war between Iran and the
US and called it an "absolute rumor."
“What has
happened is we’ve had a normal transition of American troops replacing one
group. We had one group from Ohio and they have been replaced by a group from
New York. During that transition, we had a temporary increase in the number of
troops as the new soldiers came in, old soldiers go out, but there is no desire
for the US to have a war with Iran,” he reiterated.
Moreover,
the top US official signaled that the US Congress has prepared legislation to
extend its provisions for continued support for the Peshmerga for one year.
“The US is
supporting the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) decision to unify the
Peshmerga, but right now what we found is that there are political groups that
are resisting this unification. I want to tell your viewers the unification of
the peshmerga is good for Kurdistan Region,” the retired colonel underlined.
Furthermore,
he emphasized that "unification will make the Peshmerga stronger and it
will lead to a centralized command structure, leading to reduced costs for
logistics supplies. And unification will ensure that there is electronic
banking and the peshmerga are paid as they should be paid.”
Meanwhile,
he stated that “as part of the military funding legislation, the US is going to
study air defense systems for Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. These air defense
systems would protect the region from ballistic missiles from Iran.”
“Some of
the influences from Iran in Baghdad believe that these systems are designed to
attack Iran. That is not true. The US wants the Kurdistan Region and all of
Iraq to be a place where foreign people can come here and feel safe and
comfortable and most importantly there can be foreign investment including
foreign companies that are working in the oil industry,” Caggins III affirmed.
(Kurdistan
24)