Today, Tuesday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby apologized for his incorrect statement that Washington informed Baghdad before carrying out the air strikes in Anbar, west of the country, last Friday.
“I sincerely apologize for the error and regret any confusion I caused,” Kirby told reporters at the start of a virtual webinar, adding, “This was based on information that we had, or that a witness provided to me, in the first hours after the strikes, and it turned out that the information was incorrect.” “It is correct and I certainly regret the mistake.”
He stressed, “There was no bad intent behind this and no deliberate intention to deceive or commit a mistake. I take these responsibilities seriously, and I deeply regret the mistake I made.”
Kirby continued: “I’m truly sorry about that and I promise that I will do better moving forward and will work harder not to spread incorrect information. Again, I apologize.”
John Kirby said last Saturday that the United States informed the Iraqi government early before carrying out air strikes on security sites in response to the killing of three American soldiers in Jordan on January 28, 2024.
In turn, Iraqi government spokesman Bassem Al-Awadi denied, last Saturday, the existence of prior coordination between Baghdad and Washington regarding the American air strikes that targeted security forces’ positions in Anbar Governorate, resulting in 16 martyrs and 25 wounded.
