Changes

=== Iraq ===

=== Iraq ===

Mulroy told ABC News that the relationship with the DoD and the Iraqi Army was among the most compelling strategic interests in the Middle East. He explained that the U.S. helped train and equip 28 Iraqi brigades to maintain their readiness and defend their country against ISIS. Continuing, "five years ago, the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIS) controlled approximately 55,000 square kilometers and more than 4 million people in Iraq lived under their oppressive rule, now they do not." The Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) directly supported these efforts.

Mulroy told ABC News that the relationship with the DoD and the Iraqi Army was among the most compelling strategic interests in the Middle East. He explained that the U.S. helped train and equip 28 Iraqi brigades to maintain their readiness and defend their country against ISIS.<ref name="abcnews">{{cite web|last=Martinez|first=Luis|date=June 20, 2019|title=Iraq in the middle of growing US-Iran tensions|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/iraq-middle-growing-us-iran-tensions/story?id=63765673|website=ABC News}}</ref> Continuing, "five years ago, the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] (ISIS) controlled approximately 55,000 square kilometers and more than 4 million people in Iraq lived under their oppressive rule, now they do not." The Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) directly supported these efforts.<ref name="alliances">{{cite web |url=https://www.defense.gov/explore/story/Article/1890082/building-capabilities-nurturing-alliances-at-heart-of-us-strategy/ |title=Building Capabilities, Nurturing Alliances at Heart of U.S. Strategy |website=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite web|title=Iraq: A Crossroads of U.S. Policy|url=https://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/iraq-a-crossroads-of-us-policy-071619|website=United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations}}</ref>

The Iraqi government will continue fighting the remnants of ISIS, and it will need American and coalition support to fully eliminate it. "The priority is to empower Iraq's professional and capable security forces to protect its sovereignty and to prevent an ISIS resurgence. The more capable Iraq's security institutions, the more resilient Iraq will be in the face of its enemies,” Mulroy said. He continued that U.S. forces are present at the express invitation of the government of Iraq and anchored in the Strategic Framework Agreement signed by our two countries more than 10 years ago (in 2008).

The Iraqi government will continue fighting the remnants of ISIS, and it will need American and coalition support to fully eliminate it. "The priority is to empower Iraq's professional and capable security forces to protect its sovereignty and to prevent an ISIS resurgence. The more capable Iraq's security institutions, the more resilient Iraq will be in the face of its enemies,” Mulroy said.<ref name=abcnews/> He continued that U.S. forces are present at the express invitation of the government of Iraq and anchored in the Strategic Framework Agreement signed by our two countries more than 10 years ago (in 2008).<ref name=alliances/><ref name="auto4">{{cite web|last=Seligman|first=Lara|date=July 2, 2019|title=Fears Rise of an ISIS Comeback|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/07/02/fears-rise-of-an-isis-comeback/|website=foreignpolicy.com}}</ref>

Mulroy highlighted during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) hearing that U.S. forces had gone from over 150,000 in 2008 at the expense of 150 billion U.S. dollars a year to just over 5,000 in 2019 at the expense of 15 billion U.S. dollars a year. He believed this resulted from the work the U.S. and the Iraqi military did over the years to make the Iraqis more independent. However, he said that Iran's “cynical interference” in supporting non-compliant militias in Iraq, more loyal to Tehran than Baghdad, undermined the Iraqi government's authority, preyed on ordinary Iraqis by criminal activity and destabilized the fragile communities recently liberated from ISIS. In an interview with Kurdistan 24, he said that the U.S. would continue to support the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga to combat ISIS.

Mulroy highlighted during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) hearing that U.S. forces had gone from over 150,000 in 2008 at the expense of 150 billion U.S. dollars a year to just over 5,000 in 2019 at the expense of 15 billion U.S. dollars a year. He believed this resulted from the work the U.S. and the Iraqi military did over the years to make the Iraqis more independent.<ref name="auto1" /> However, he said that Iran's “cynical interference” in supporting non-compliant militias in Iraq, more loyal to Tehran than Baghdad, undermined the Iraqi government's authority, preyed on ordinary Iraqis by criminal activity and destabilized the fragile communities recently liberated from ISIS.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-23/the-next-u-s-iran-confrontation-could-play-out-on-iraqi-soil |title=The Next U.S.-Iran Flashpoint Could Be Iraq |website=www.bloomberg.com}}</ref> In an interview with Kurdistan 24, he said that the U.S. would continue to support the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga to combat ISIS.<ref name="auto4" />

On March 11, 2020, two American and one British service members were killed, and 12 others were wounded when eighteen 107-mm Katyusha rockets struck their base in Iraq known as Camp Taji. The Iranian proxy group Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH) was suspected of the attack which may have been retaliation from the strike that killed their leader and IRGC Commander Soleimani. Mulroy told ABC News that if the Camp Taji attack was determined to be supported by Iran the president would likely be presented with several courses of action to respond and that it is incredibly provocative and could not have come at a "worst time as it risks escalation of a regional conflict at a time of an international health and economic crisis". The U.S. responded to these attacks the next day with strikes on several KH facilities in Iraq.

On March 11, 2020, two American and one British service members were killed, and 12 others were wounded when eighteen 107-mm Katyusha rockets struck their base in Iraq known as Camp Taji. The Iranian proxy group Kata'ib Hezbollah (KH) was suspected of the attack which may have been retaliation from the strike that killed their leader and IRGC Commander Soleimani.<ref name="abc11.com">{{Cite web|last=Martinez|first=Luis|date=2020-03-11|title=2 Americans among 3 troops killed in rocket attack on base in Iraq: Officials|url=https://abc11.com/6004410/|access-date=2020-08-10|website=ABC11 Raleigh-Durham|language=en}}</ref> Mulroy told ABC News that if the Camp Taji attack was determined to be supported by Iran the president would likely be presented with several courses of action to respond and that it is incredibly provocative and could not have come at a "worst time as it risks escalation of a regional conflict at a time of an international health and economic crisis".<ref name="abc11.com"/> The U.S. responded to these attacks the next day with strikes on several KH facilities in Iraq.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Romo|first1=Vanessa|last2=Myre|first2=Greg|date=March 12, 2020|title=U.S. Launches Retaliatory Airstrikes In Iraq After Missile Attack|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/03/12/815210420/u-s-launches-retaliatory-airstrikes-in-iraq-after-missile-attack|access-date=2020-08-10|website=NPR|language=en}}</ref>

=== Russia ===

=== Russia ===