Iraq removes Defense Minister Khalid Obeidi amid corruption controversy.
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Secretary of Defense Ash Carter conducts a troop review with Iraqi Minister of Defense Khalid Obeidi during an Iraqi honor guard ceremony welcoming Carter as he arrives in Baghdad, Iraq to meet with al-Obaidi to discuss matters of mutual importance on April 18. Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz/U.S. Department of Defense
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LONDON, England -- Iraq's parliament voted to remove Defense Minister Khalid Obeidi from office over corruption allegations as the country's armed forces geared up for a major offensive to retake the Islamic State stronghold Mosul.
Parliament voted 142-102 in a secret ballot on Thursday to impeach Obeidi, accusing him of wasting billions of dollars on weapons contracts and weakening Iraq's military.
Obeidi denied any wrongdoing and said the charges were politically motivated, accusing his political foes of targeting him because he was fighting corruption.
"Finally, those who have brought Iraq to where it is now have won," Obeidi said in a series of posts on Twitter. "I tried to fight corruption as much as possible but it seems they are stronger, their voices are louder and their actions more enduring."
The people of Iraq, not Parliament, should be the judges of his record in office, he said.
"God is my witness that I exerted every effort to rebuild the army and the military institution, along with tireless efforts to fight corruption and the corrupt, prevent nepotism and clientelism that caused Iraq in 2014 to lose 40 percent of its land," Obeidi tweeted.
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