Varying head counts of US forces in Iraq stir controversy
It's hard to nail down how many US troops are in Iraq, but some Iraqi political factions say any number is too high.
BAGHDAD — There's a discrepancy over how many US troops are still in Iraq, and whether they are welcome.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently estimated there are 5,000 American troops in Iraq and said there are no plans to remove them. However, that number is under scrutiny, in part because the United States has said it won't publicize such figures, and the Pentagon has removed from the internet official statistics on troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, other groups have different estimates.
