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Trump makes unannounced visit to US troops in Iraq Trump makes unannounced visit to US troops in Iraq
(35 minutes later)
Donald Trump has made an unannounced visit to Iraq, leaving behind a partially shuttered US government to greet American troops. Donald Trump has made his first visit to a war zone with a surprise trip to Iraq one day after Christmas.
The visit comes a week after the president stunned his national security advisers by announcing that he would withdraw US troops from neighboring Syria, where they have been fighting Islamic State militants. The unannounced visit came after the US president faced growing pressure for the US president to spend time with troops stationed in the Middle East.
The defense secretary, Jim Mattis, abruptly resigned following the announcement, and Trump’s decision rattled allies around the world, including in Iraq. It also comes a week after the president stunned his national security advisers by announcing that he would withdraw US troops from neighboring Syria, where they have been fighting Islamic State militants, prompting the resignation of the defense secretary, Jim Mattis, last week.
Trump’s trip was shrouded in secrecy. Air Force One flew overnight from Washington, landing at an airbase west of Baghdad under the cover of darkness on Wednesday evening. It is his first visit with troops stationed in a troubled region. Trump made the secret 11-hour flight on Air Force One with lights off and window shades drawn plus military jet escorts, according to the Associated Press, which noted: “He says he’s never seen anything like it.”
Fifteen years after the 2003 invasion, the US still has more than 5,000 troops in Iraq supporting the government as it continues the fight against remaining pockets of resistance by Isis. Isis has lost a significant amount of territory in Iraq and Syria but is still seen as a threat. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted: “President Trump and the First Lady traveled to Iraq late on Christmas night to visit with our troops and Senior Military leadership to thank them for their service, their success, and their sacrifice and to wish them a Merry Christmas.”
Trump, who speaks often about his support for the US military, had faced criticism for not yet visiting US troops stationed in harm’s way as he approaches his two-year mark in office. He told The Associated Press in an interview in October that he “will do that at some point, but I don’t think it’s overly necessary”. He later began to signal that such a troop visit was in the offing. The tweet was accompanied by a photo of Trump and the First Lady, Melania, posing with around 15 military personnel. Other photos showed Trump posing for selfies with soldiers.
Trump had planned to spend Christmas at his private club in Florida, but stayed behind in Washington due to the shutdown. It is unclear whether his trip to Iraq was added after it became apparent that the government would be shut down indefinitely due to a stalemate between Trump and congressional Democrats over the president’s demand for a wall along the US-Mexico border. The president spoke at Al Asad airbase in western Iraq to American servicemen and women and reportedly said he has “no plans at all” to remove American troops from the country.
But he defended his decision to withdraw all 2,000 US troops from Syria.
In a speech lasting roughly 20 minutes, Trump reportedly told troops: “We’re no longer the suckers, folks. We’re respected again as a nation.”
Defending his Syria decision, he said: “I made it clear from the beginning that our mission in Syria was to strip Isis of its military strongholds. Eight years ago, we went there for three months and we never left. Now, we’re doing it right and we’re going to finish it off.”
Though Isis has lost a significant amount of territory in Iraq and Syria, it is still seen as a threat.
Trump argued that the US presence was never intended to be “open-ended” and that Turkey has agreed to eliminate remnants of the Isis terror group still remaining in the country.
Trump told reporters traveling with him that, if needed, the US can attack Isis “so fast and so hard” that they “won’t know what the hell happened”.
Trump had planned to spend Christmas at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida, but stayed behind in Washington due to a partial government shutdown prompted by a stalemate between him and congressional Democrats over his demand for a wall along the US-Mexico border.
Fifteen years after the 2003 invasion, America still has more than 5,000 troops in Iraq supporting the government as it continues the fight against remaining pockets of resistance by the Islamic State group. Iraqi prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi recently said Iraqi troops could deploy into Syria to protect Iraq from threats across its borders.
The Pentagon is also said to be developing plans to withdraw up to half of the 14,000 American troops still serving in Afghanistan.
Trump, who speaks often about his support for the US military, had faced criticism for not yet visiting US troops stationed in harm’s way as he approaches his two-year mark in office. He told the Associated Press in an interview in October that he “will do that at some point, but I don’t think it’s overly necessary”.
Trump’s visit marks the sixth time that a US president has visited Iraq.
George W Bush went to Iraq in November 2003, about eight months after that conflict began. Due to security concerns, Bush waited until 2006 to make his first visit to Afghanistan. Barack Obama visited Iraq in April 2009 as part of an overseas tour and went to Afghanistan in 2010.
The vice-president, Mike Pence, visited Afghanistan in December 2017, soon after Trump outlined a strategy to break the impasse in America’s longest war.
Donald TrumpDonald Trump
IraqIraq
Middle East and North AfricaMiddle East and North Africa
US militaryUS military
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