United States Agency for Global Media

In an in-depth interview with Alhurra-Iraq at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) addressed the global fight against terror and the U.S.’s role in it. He stressed the seriousness of the situation, saying, “the world’s largest terrorist organization is occupying part of a sovereign nation, and they continue to wage attacks against the Iraqi people and government.” But, he added, new leadership in the Iraqi military and government is reason for “optimism.”

Sen. McCain stated that one of the roles of the U.S. and the global coalition is to assist in training the Iraqi military. “The United States and other countries are working together with the government in Baghdad to set up training facilities here in Iraq,” he told Alhurra-Iraq, stipulating that this would not require any new U.S. military bases to be established in Iraq. Though Sen. McCain cautioned against unrealistic expectations by the Iraqis. “They need and understand that this is going to be a very difficult struggle against what is now a well-equipped and well-trained terrorist organization.”

Sen. McCain stated that he believed the U.S. needed to arm the Kurdish people with weapons to fight ISIL. He also said that the new Iraqi government needed to be inclusive and reach out to all sects, and he added that Prime Minister al-Abaidi “has done an effective job.” He went on to say, “I was encouraged recently to see the agreement on the oil revenues, and I see a much improving relationship between this present government and the government in Irbil.”

The Republican Senator also expressed his concerns over Iranian impact in Iraq, “I am disturbed to hear of Iranian presence here in Iraq, and I hope their influence is not significant.”  When asked about the U.S.’s negotiations with Iran over their nuclear program, he said that discussions with Iran “should be separate from the issue of Iraq and Syria.” He went on to say the newly elected Congress would address this when they meet. “In the Congress, we will be seeking a requirement that any agreement be ratified by votes in the United States Senate and House. We will be working on that when we go back into session next week with a Republican majority in both House and Senate.”