Readout of Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper’s Meeting With the Prime Minister of Iraq Adel Abd-al-Mahdi
Oct. 23, 2019

Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper met with the Prime Minister of Iraq Adel Abd-al-Mahdi today in Baghdad to reaffirm the strategic security partnership between the United States and the Government of Iraq.

The leaders discussed mutual security concerns and ways to strengthen our bilateral relationship, including ongoing efforts to promote stability throughout the Middle East.

Secretary Esper reaffirmed the importance of working together to defeat the common threat of ISIS, and praised the Iraqi security forces’ continuing operations to dismantle ISIS networks and prevent an ISIS resurgence. He also extended appreciation to Prime Minister Abd-al-Mahdi for Iraqi support for the security of U.S. personnel in Iraq. Secretary Esper also reiterated U.S. support for a secure and sovereign Iraq.