U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday as chaos swirled along the Turkey-Syria border and Iraqi leaders chafed over reports that the U.S. may want to increase the number of troops based in Iraq, at least temporarily. Esper’s meetings Wednesday at the Iraqi Defense Ministry came a day after Iraq’s military said American troops leaving northeastern Syria don’t have permission to stay in Iraq. The Iraqi statement appeared to contradict Esper, who has said that all U.S. troops leaving Syria will go to western Iraq and that the military would continue to conduct operations against the Islamic State group to prevent its resurgence in the region.