(Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)The State Department ordered all “non-emergency U.S. government employees” to leave Iraq on Wednesday amid soaring tensions with Iran, which backs proxy forces there. “They know a war wouldn’t be beneficial for them.”[A conflict with Iran would not be like the Iraq War. More recently, the two have formed part of an uneasy alliance in Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State. [Iranian threats led to White House’s deployment announcement, U.S. officials say]The United States also has about 5,000 military personnel stationed in Iraq, after years-long battles to defeat Islamist militants there. Read more:A conflict with Iran would not be like the Iraq War.

Source: Washington Post May 15, 2019 09:01 UTC