Readout of Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan’s Meeting With Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi
March 27, 2019

Acting Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Charles E. Summers Jr. provided the following readout:

Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan met Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi at the Pentagon today to reaffirm the strategic security partnership between the U.S. and Iraq and the U.S. commitment to a sovereign, secure, and prosperous Iraq.

The secretary extended his condolences to the speaker for the tragic ferry accident in Mosul that killed more than a hundred civilians last week.

The leaders discussed the enduring value of the U.S.-Iraq security partnership and ways to better partner against the enduring threat ISIS poses to both nations and to the world. U.S. security assistance is specifically designed to empower Iraqi forces to defeat ISIS and prevent its resurgence.

The leaders agreed that the U.S.-Iraq security partnership makes us all safer—Iraqis, Americans, and regional allies alike. They also agreed on the value of the international Coalition to Defeat ISIS and the need for continued Coalition support to Iraq.