We’ve knocked them silly.”Trump’s sudden decision last week to withdraw troops from Syria led Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to resign. Asked why he wanted to come to Iraq, Trump told reporters, “It’s a place I have been talking about for many years — many, many years. He was also critical of President Barack Obama’s withdrawal from Iraq in 2011, saying the move created the Islamic State. U.S. forces reentered Iraq in 2014 after the Islamic State established its self-declared caliphate in Syria and swept through Iraq, reaching the outskirts of the capital, Baghdad. Trump has described the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan as a “complete waste” and vowed to bring home American troops.

Source: Washington Post December 26, 2018 19:29 UTC