Trump acknowledges security concerns over Iraq visit

Iraqi lawmakers criticise Trump visit as blow to Iraqi sovereignty

IRAQ: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday acknowledged he had security concerns about visiting Iraq, saying it was "pretty sad" that he needed such secrecy to see US troops.

On a lightning trip to Iraq that came after mounting criticism that he had not already visited US forces abroad, Trump said he was concerned about making the journey "when I heard what you had to go through."

"I had concerns about the institution of the presidency. Not for myself personally. I had concerns for the First Lady, I will tell you," Trump, who made the trip along with his wife Melania, told reporters.

First Lady Melania Trump sits onstage as US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the US military during an unannounced trip to Al Asad Air BasePHOTO: AFP



Trump, who left unannounced from Washington in the dead of night in a darkened plane, said that a 'couple' of trips had been previously set up but canceled as word got out.

"Pretty sad when you spend $7 trillion in the Middle East, and going in has to be under this massive cover with planes all over and all of the greatest equipment in the world, and you do everything to get in safely," he said.

For "security reasons," the White House was only able to invite Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi to a meeting with Trump two hours before the scheduled time, spokesperson Sarah Sanders said.

Abdel Mahdi was in another part of Iraq and could not attend, she said.

Trump's trip came days after his sudden decision to withdraw all 2,000 US troops from Syria, arguing that the Islamic State had been defeated and that the United States was paying too much on foreign interventions.

Iraqi political and militia leaders condemned US President Donald Trump's surprise visit to US troops in Iraq on Wednesday as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty, and lawmakers said a meeting between Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was canceled due to a disagreement over venue.

Sabah al Saadi, the leader of the Islah parliamentary bloc, called for an emergency session of parliament "to discuss this blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty and to stop these aggressive actions by Trump who should know his limits: The US occupation of Iraq is over."

The Bina bloc, Islah's rival in parliament and led by Iran-backed militia leader Hadi al-Amiri, also objected to Trump's trip to Iraq.

"Trump's visit is a flagrant and clear violation of diplomatic norms and shows his disdain and hostility in his dealings with the Iraqi government," said a statement from Bina.

Abdul Mahdi's office said in a statement that US authorities had informed Iraq's leadership of the president's visit ahead of time. The statement said the Iraqi prime minister and US president talked by telephone due to a "disagreement over how to conduct the meeting."

Iraqi lawmakers told Reuters that the pair had disagreed over where their planned meeting should take place: Trump had asked to meet at the Ain al-Asad military base, an offer which Abdul Mahdi declined.

Trump's visit comes amid a backdrop of escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, as Washington seeks to counter Iran's sway in the Middle East. The formation of Iraq's government has stalled as well amid intensifying discord between the Islah and Bina blocs.

Falih Khazali, a former militia leader turned politician allied with Bina, accused the United States of wanting to increase its presence in Iraq.

"The American leadership was defeated in Iraq and wants to return again under any pretext, and this is what we will never allow," he said.

Bina said Trump's visit "places many question marks on the nature of the US military presence and its real objectives, and what these objectives could pose to the security of Iraq."

While there has been no full-scale violence in Iraq since Islamic State suffered a series of defeats last year, some 5,200 US troops train and advise Iraqi forces still waging a campaign against the militant group.

Islah is headed by populist Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Sadr has long opposed the US presence in Iraq since the US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

He led two uprisings against US forces in Iraq and is one of the few
Shia leaders to also distance himself from Iran.



Iraq's Shia militias, also known as the PMF, many of which are supported by Iran, oppose the presence of US troops in the region.

The PMF was made formally part of the security forces this year after helping the military defeat Islamic State in Iraq in 2017. Qais al-Khazali, the leader of the powerful Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia said on Twitter, "Iraqis will respond with a parliamentary decision to oust your (US) military forces.

And if they do not leave, we have the experience and the ability to remove them by other means that your forces are familiar with."

Some Iraqis, however, were less concerned with the US president's visit. "We won't get anything from America," said Baghdad resident
Mohammad Abdullah. "They've been in Iraq 16 years, and they
haven't given anything to the country except destruction and
devastation."