Former Iraqi PM Ayad Allawi: We Are Unable to Defend Ourselves; We Need the Presence of American, Foreign Forces

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said in a September 13, 2020 interview on Zagros TV (Iraqi Kurdistan) that Iraq is incapable of defending itself, that it should cooperate with the international coalition, that the Iraqi army is entirely ineffective, and that Iraq needs the presence of American and other foreign forces.

Interviewer: "You are saying that Iraq is incapable of defending itself..."

Ayad Allawi: "That is correct."

Interviewer: "I deduct from this that we need to cooperate with the international coalition."

Allawi: "Yes, absolutely. What capabilities do we have? People say we have an army. What kind of army do we have? It has gone bankrupt. This Iraqi army used to rock the entire region. It brought Iran to its knees in an eight–year war. What happened to that Iraqi army? It has evaporated."

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Interviewer: "People are saying that Iraq does not need the presence of the American forces, or of any other forces. We have capable forces, we have our security forces, we have the PMU, we have the Peshmerga... Our security forces have many factions that are fighting today, and we do not need those foreign forces."

Allawi: "No, we do need them. We do. I am being honest with you."