US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump flew into Iraq under cover of darkness on 25 December 2018,Christmas Night.The President had been taken to task in the media for not visiting the troops over the holidays.
Air Force One landed at a darkened Al-Asad Air Base west of the Iraqi capital,Baghdad.During his three-hour visit,the President thanked the US troops and their senior leaders for their service,success and sacrifice.He wished tham a Merry Christmas,posed for selfies and signed autographs for the broadly smiling Soldiers gathered in a dining hall.*
National Security Advisor John Bolton accompanied the Trumps.From Iraq,the presidential entourage flew on to Ramstein Air Base,Germany to visit US forces there.It was the President's first ever trip to a war zone.*
Islamic State militants persist in western Iraq by hiding in caves and tunnels of the desert region,and also range across the Iraqi border into Eastern Syria.President Trump told reporters on Wednesday that the US had intended all along to withdraw its 2,000 troops from Syria once all of the IS military bases there had been taken out.The withdrawal from Syria will be measured,rather than hasty.In any event,he had no intention of withdrawing US forces from Iraq,and they were capable of responding if IS staged a resurgence in Syria.
There have reportedly been plans to station US Special Operations Forces in Iraq who could mount raids into Syria as needed.Additionally,President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has promised to hunt down any IS remnants in Syria,Mr.Trump said.
No comments:
Post a Comment