Trump makes surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq, his first as President
- 5 years ago
U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have made a surprise Christmas visit to American troops in Iraq.
For more on this and other news around the world we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… so this is Trump's first trip to a conflict zone as the leader of the free world...
That's right Mark… Trump had drawn fire from some in the U.S. military for not having visited American service men in war zones during his presidency.
He had made promises to do so before and it has taken him quite a while to make good on that promise.
Air Force One flew overnight from Washington, landing at an airbase west of Baghdad on Wednesday.
The president was on the ground for about three hours, greeting soldiers and taking selfies with them.
The trip comes about a week after he made the controversial decision to pull American troops out of neighboring Syria.
During his visit, President Trump defended that decision, again making the disputed claim that the Islamic State group was defeated.
However, the president said he has no plans to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq.
He said Iraq can still be used as a base to stage attacks on ISIS militants if needed.
There are some 5,000 American troops who are supporting and training Iraqi forces in their fight against what remains of the terrorist group.
For more on this and other news around the world we turn to our Ro Aram…
Aram… so this is Trump's first trip to a conflict zone as the leader of the free world...
That's right Mark… Trump had drawn fire from some in the U.S. military for not having visited American service men in war zones during his presidency.
He had made promises to do so before and it has taken him quite a while to make good on that promise.
Air Force One flew overnight from Washington, landing at an airbase west of Baghdad on Wednesday.
The president was on the ground for about three hours, greeting soldiers and taking selfies with them.
The trip comes about a week after he made the controversial decision to pull American troops out of neighboring Syria.
During his visit, President Trump defended that decision, again making the disputed claim that the Islamic State group was defeated.
However, the president said he has no plans to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq.
He said Iraq can still be used as a base to stage attacks on ISIS militants if needed.
There are some 5,000 American troops who are supporting and training Iraqi forces in their fight against what remains of the terrorist group.