We鈥檙e in places most haven鈥檛 heard about, claims Trump
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US President Donald Trump used a lightning visit to Iraq, his first with US troops in a conflict zone since being elected, to defend the withdrawal from Syria.
He also declared an end to America’s role as the “global policeman.”
Trump, accompanied by his wife Melania, landed at Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq after what he described as a stressful, secrecy shrouded flight on a “pitch black” Air Force One.
He spoke to a group of about 100 mostly special forces personnel and separately with military leaders before leaving after a few hours.
A planned meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi was scrapped and replaced by a phone call, the premier’s office said.
Trump invited Abdel Mahdi to visit Washington and he accepted.
The president was seen shaking hands with camouflage-clad personnel, signing autographs and posing for photos at the base.
Speaking on America’s global military role, Trump said: “We don’t want to be taken advantage of any more by countries that use us and use our incredible military to protect them.
“We are spread out all over the world. We are in countries most people haven’t even heard about. Frankly, it’s ridiculous.”
Trump said he had overruled generals asking to extend the Syria deployment, where about 2,000 US forces, joined by other foreign troops, assist local fighters battling the Islamic State jihadist group.
“You can’t have any more time, you’ve had enough time,” he said he told the top brass.
Trump’s visit appeared to take Iraqi authorities by surprise and prompted criticism including from former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
The way in which Trump visited was “not commensurate with diplomatic norms and relations with sovereign states,” Abadi said.
Trump’s troop drawdowns, and the abrupt way that they were announced, helped trigger the resignation of his Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who has been one of the administration’s heavyweights.
But the president has made disentangling America from its wars a priority since his 2016 election and he said in Iraq that the US would no longer be treated as “suckers.”
IS, which once controlled swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, has been driven mostly into hiding.
Trump said “we’ve knocked them out,” although he added Iraq might be used as a future base “if we wanted to do something in Syria.”
According to a transcript released by the White House, he thanked troops for the “near-elimination” of IS, and said some US troops from Syria “will come here for a stay, but a lot of them are going to be going back home.”
After departing Iraq, Trump stopped over at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, before flying on to the United States.
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