Trump Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq

[The SC]

Wednesday, 26 December, 2018 - 19:45

Trump delivers remarks to US troops in an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. (Reuters)
Asharq Al-Awsat


US President Donald Trump made a surprise visit to Iraq on Wednesday to meet with American troops to thank them for their service.

Air Force One flew overnight from Washington, landing at an airbase west of Baghdad under the cover of darkness Wednesday evening. It is his first visit with troops stationed in the region.

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 the ISIS terrorist group. ISIS has lost a significant amount of territory in Iraq and Syria but is still seen as a threat.

Last week, Trump stunned his national security advisers by announcing that he would withdraw US troops from neighboring Syria where they have been fighting ISIS. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis abruptly resigned following the announcement, and Trump's decision rattled allies around the world, including in Iraq.

"I think a lot of people are going to come around to my way of thinking. It's time for us to start using our head," the president told reporters at the Al Asad Air Base west of Baghdad where he and first lady Melania Trump spent three hours on the ground with US troops.

Trump also said the United States had no plans to withdraw its troops from Iraq, adding, “In fact we could use this as the base if we wanted to do something in Syria."

He indicated he would not rush to nominate a new secretary to replace Mattis.


https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1520926/trump-makes-surprise-visit-iraq

 

[Ceylal]

Iraq, for Trump, is part of the US...

 

[Saddam Hussein]

Trump also said the United States had no plans to withdraw its troops from Iraq, adding, “In fact we could use this as the base if we wanted to do something in Syria."

I don't know if that's good or bad, them pulling out has negative consequences and them staying does as well

 

[dBSPL]

Is Iraq colonial state?

Why didn't he visit his counterpart? Or how did the Iraqi state allow it?

 

[The SC]

I don't know if that's good or bad, them pulling out has negative consequences and them staying does as well

The US is building 2 new bases in Iraq.. so they are not really pulling back from Syria.. just getting out of the way.. but not staying too far..they might just provide weapons and intelligence to their allies and let the fighting go on..they do not want to fight Turkey directly..so they pulled out leaving their friend,, but I do not think without any covert assistance.. anyway it is better for Syria if Turkey defeats the Kurds who want a significant part of Syria for themselves..

 

[Saddam Hussein]

The US is building 2 new bases in Iraq.. so they are not really pulling back from Syria.. just getting out of the way.. but not staying too far..they might just provide weapons and intelligence to their allies and let the fighting go on..they do not want to fight Turkey directly..so they pulled out leaving their friend,, but I do not think without any covert assistance.. anyway it is better for Syria if Turkey defeats the Kurds who want a significant part of Syria for themselves..

These 2 'bases' are small, I mean whether it is good for Baghdad that US has large presence in 2 large air bases (Al-Asad in Anbar and Qayyarah west air field in the north).

This whilst Iraq's only 'alliance' with the US is the Strategic agreement framework signed in 2008, meanwhile it has no access to top US weapons like AIM-120 AMRAAM. Iraq isn't with the US/GCC against Iran, it's so much of a balancing act that Iraq is playing Switserland which is strange

 

[Oracle]

its always a surprise visit
either its Iraq or afghanistan,
they cant plan the visit otherwise rebels will know , as well as protesters

 

[Saddam Hussein]

Is Iraq colonial state?

Why didn't he visit his counterpart? Or how did the Iraqi state allow it?

apparently, trump wanted iraqi pm to meet him at the airbase, iraqi pm didn't want to go to the airbase

 

[The SC]

These 2 'bases' are small, I mean whether it is good for Baghdad that US has large presence in 2 large air bases (Al-Asad in Anbar and Qayyarah west air field in the north).

This whilst Iraq's only 'alliance' with the US is the Strategic agreement framework signed in 2008, meanwhile it has no access to top US weapons like AIM-120 AMRAAM. Iraq isn't with the US/GCC against Iran, it's so much of a balancing act that Iraq is playing Switserland which is strange

It is obvious that the US wants to stay and benefit from its presence in Iraq..otherwise it wouldn't have built its biggest embassy in the world there!?
Iraq is playing it smart..it is rebuilding itself and gets that American protection.. but the US is doing it for the sake of Usrael and by force of things Iraq gets benefits too.. so yes, better play Switzerland for now, rebuild, get some benefits along the way and mostly gain stability..
Iran is a neighbour, they just declared that they are pulling out their advisors from Iraq a few days back.. and the GCC and other Arabs are brothers who will help in any way possible to see Iraq get back on its feet and become great again despite the US presence that at the end might just allow that..but with Iraq as an ally this time!

 

[Ceylal]

Is Iraq colonial state?

Why didn't he visit his counterpart? Or how did the Iraqi state allow it?

Iraqi official didn’t know he was coming..It was just as if flew to Florida..For him Iraq is an American soil..He believes it too.

 

[yavar]

 

[Tokhme khar]

Aaahahahaaa...... Oh he's goin 'watch' us......lol....

We could have arrested his fat shitbilly asss and paraded him in Tehran today, if we wanted to. Fat shyster just flew into iraq at night like a fukkin criminal. Lol

 

[Tokhme khar]

Pussy asss coward came in from the back door and left within 3 hours. That's how nervous he was. Iran should have arrested this war criminal terrorist and hanged him in down town Baghdad just like saddam. Had he stuck around a few more hours, we'd have arrested him:

Iran: President Trump's 'sneak trip' a disrespect to Iraq
Fri Dec 28, 2018 07:31AM [Updated: Fri Dec 28, 2018 08:33AM ]

1. Home
2. Iran
3. Politics

US President Donald Trump greets members of the US military during an unannounced trip to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq on December 26, 2018. (Photo by AFP)


Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi says a "sneak trip" by US President Donald Trump to Iraq Thursday was "outside diplomatic norms and a disrespect of the country's national sovereignty."

"Despite countless interventions and thousands of billions of dollars the US has wasted on its illegitimate presence in the region and in particular in Iraq, Trump still has to visit a regional country in a total secret, or so to speak, sneaky way amid the tightest security measures," he said Friday.

The visit, he said, was strongly opposed by the Iraqi people and widely criticized by experts.

Trump made an unannounced three-hour visit to the al-Asad Air Base near Baghdad on Thursday, sparking a wave of condemnation from Iraqi political and military leaders, with some of them demanding the expulsion of US forces.


PressTV-Officials in Iraq slam Trump’s unannounced visit to base
US President Donald Trump's unannounced visit to Iraq sparks a wave of condemnations from the country's political and military leaders, with some of them demanding the expulsion of American forces.
Qassemi strongly criticized Trump’s "meddlesome and opportunist" remarks in Iraq and said “regional governments and nations will never allow aggressive and despicable outsiders to sow division among them.”

“It was the vigilant nations of the region – not the greedy US and its staunch support of terrorism – which managed to uproot terrorist groups created, equipped and financed by the US and the Zionists,” he said.

Qassemi said the regional nations routed terrorists by their timely understanding and synergizing of their material and spiritual powers.

"Undoubtedly, all regional states will soon come to the conclusion that the region’s stability and security will be ensured only through relying on their domestic, regional and international resources and capacities and foreign forces, sooner or later, will have to leave the whole region.”

Qassemi also had a piece of advice for the US president.

"Mr Trump had better seriously and inclusively review the developments of the world and the West Asia from the time he assumed office up to now so that he may have a second thought about what he has said, what has happened and what will happen and take necessary lessons."

On Wednesday, Trump spent a few hours at al-Asad Air Base in Iraq’s western Anbar Province but did not visit Baghdad. It was Trump’s first visit to troops in a war zone since becoming president.


PressTV-Trump, wife make surprise visit to Iraq
Trump defends his Syria pullout plan but denies similar plans for Iraq as he pays a secret visit to Baghdad.
In his remarks, Trump acknowledged his security concerns about visiting Iraq, saying it was “pretty sad” that he needed such secrecy to see US troops.

“Pretty sad when you spend $7 trillion in the Middle East, and going in has to be under this massive cover with planes all over and all of the greatest equipment in the world, and you do everything to get in safely,” he said.

A scheduled meeting between Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi was scrapped and they only talked over phone.

Abdul-Mahdi’s office said in a statement that the cancellation came as a result of “disagreement over how to conduct the meeting.”

The US, backed by the UK, invaded Iraq in 2003 under the pretext that the former regime of Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons, however, were ever found in the country.

The invasion led to the rise of terrorist groups such as Daesh.

The US and a coalition of its allies further launched a military campaign against purported Daesh targets in Iraq in 2014, but their operations have in many instances led to civilian deaths and generally spared the terrorists.

 

[manga]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1078302386710491138

 

[Tokhme khar]

There is a lot of chatter in Iraq today because of this shaeful incident. Iraqi's feel very insulted! Iraqi people are questioning their leadership now because of this.