US President Barack Obama and Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki have pledged to fight terrorism in Iraq amid rising violence in the country in recent months
US President Barack Obama and Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki have pledged to fight terrorism in Iraq amid rising violence in the country in recent months.
"Unfortunately, al-Qaeda has still been active and has grown more act
ive recently," Obama told reporters after his talks with Maliki in the White House on Friday.
The US president added that he and Maliki “had a lot of discussion about how we can work together to push back against that terrorist organization, that operates not only in Iraq but also poses a threat to the entire region and to the United States."
"Throughout this discussion, the main theme was that the United States wants to be a strong and effective partner with Iraq, and we are deeply invested in seeing an Iraq that is inclusive, that is democratic and that is prosperous," Obama said.
Maliki also said that he and Obama had "similar positions and similar ideas" about counterterrorism.
The Iraqi premier noted that his country’s "nascent and fragile" democracy needs support from abroad.
In a joint statement after Friday talks in Washington, they called also for an "urgent" need for more military equipment “for Iraqi forces to conduct ongoing operations in remote areas where terrorist camps are located."
On Thursday, al-Maliki called for a global effort to battle the “virus” of al-Qaeda and similar terrorist groups.
“If we have had two world wars, we want a third world war against those who are killing people, killing populations, who are calling for bloodshed, for ignorance and do not want logic to govern our daily lives,” said Maliki.
