US defence chief: We're not in Iraq for oil

The US military is not in Iraq “to seize anybody’s oil”, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said, distancing himself from remarks by President Donald Trump before arriving on an unannounced visit to Baghdad today.

Mattis, on his first trip to Iraq as Pentagon chief, is hoping to get a first-hand assessment of the war effort as US-backed Iraqi forces launch a new push to evict Daesh militants from their remaining stronghold in the city of Mosul.

But he is likely to face questions about Trump’s remarks and actions, including a temporary ban on travel to the United States and for saying America should have seized Iraq’s oil after toppling Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Trump told CIA staff in a January speech: “We should have kept the oil. But okay. Maybe you’ll have another chance.”

Mattis, however, flatly ruled out any such intent. “We’re not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil,” he told reporters travelling with him.

Fighting Daesh

His visit to Iraq comes a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi announced the start of the ground offensive on western Mosul, where Daesh militants are essentially under siege, along with an estimated 650,000 civilians.

The insurgents were forced out of the eastern part of the city last month in the first phase of the offensive after 100 days of fighting.

The US commander in Iraq, Army Lieutenant General Stephen Townsend, has said he believes US-backed forces will recapture both of Daesh’s major strongholds – Mosul and the city of Raqqa in Syria – within the next six months.

Mattis said he aimed to get an up-to-date assessment of the war during his visit to Iraq. His strategy review could lead to additional deployment of US forces, beyond the less than 6,000 American troops deployed to both Iraq and Syria today.