(The Washington Times)
President Trump made a surprise visit Wednesday to U.S. troops in Iraq, his first visit as president to forces serving in a war zone.
The president was accompanied by first lady Melania Trump on the unannounced trip to at Al Asad Air Base west of Baghdad.
Addressing the service members, Mr. Trump said the defeat of the Islamic State, the terrorist group also known as ISIS, justified his recent decision to pull out all 2,000 U.S. troops from neighboring Syria.
He said he personally thanked the troops at the base and across the region for their help in the near-elimination of the Islamic State territorial caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
“Two years ago, when I became president, they were a very dominant group — very dominant. Today they are not so dominant any more,” he said to cheers from the troops. Read more