In 2011 former president Barack Obama withdrew troops from Iraq and this created a power vacuum in the country paving opportunity for the self-declared Islamic State to gain ground and seize cities.
In 2014 the troops had to return back and now in 2018 the US-backed coalition is still fighting against the ISIS.
President Donald Trunp made a surprise visit to Iraq after Christmas to get a brief about consequences of Obama’s decision. It is learned the US forces are still away from their families and facing ISIS threat, which is seen as the product of withdrawal.
Addressing to the troops at Al Asad Air Base on the outskirts of Baghdad the president defended his decision of withdrawal from Syria and offered a mixed message.
Earlier Trump said ISIS has been defeated and in Baghdad he walked back saying the troops would not be leaving Iraq, which could remain as an important base of operations if ISIS gains power again in Syria.
The president added, “If we see something happening with ISIS that we don’t like, we can hit them so fast and so hard they really won’t know what the hell happened.”
It is justified the ISIS may regain territory as about 30,000 fighters are still active and their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is at large.
Considering the fact Trump would not repeat Obama’s mistake and so his visit to Iraq was important to discuss ongoing challenges with the troops. He said leaving Syria will only be possible once operations can be completely supported from Iraq.
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