President Trump accompanied by his wife and First Lady of America, Melania Trump on Wednesday were the surprised visitors to the Al Asad Air Base west of Baghdad Iraq to see American troops for Christmas.
President Trump who has been in a battle with the Senate and Democrats on the need to fund the border wall, seems to have taken a time off the whole drama, to pay a visit to American men and women serving in Iraq. His visit to Iraq is also coming days after he announced a pull out of American troops from Syria, after he claimed victory over ISIS.
According to a report by Reuters, Trump’s trip to Iraq was him looking for some positive headlines after days of turmoil over his decisions to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria, pull out half of the 14,000-strong contingent in Afghanistan, and push out Defense Secretary James Mattis two months earlier than planned for criticizing his policies.
Many Republican and Democratic lawmakers have heaped scorn on Trump for his sudden order last week to withdraw from Syria.
On his stop in Iraq, he defended his decision to pull out the 2,000 troops from Syria, which he has said was made possible by the defeat of Islamic State militants.
“We want peace and the best way to have peace is through strength,” Trump told troops wearing camouflage fatigues in a hangar as he concluded his visit. He said some troops “can now return home to their families.”
“Our presence in Syria was not open ended and it was never intended to be permanent,” he added.
Trump has made good his promise to travel to one of the American war zones, marking his first Presidential visit to US troop in a combat zone, while the shutdown continues.