Declaring the two-decade-long military involvement a costly historical quagmire, President Donald Trump announced the complete withdrawal of all American forces from Iraq.
Speaking to reporters, Trump asserted that the United States has pulled every asset out of the country and maintained that the original invasion should never have happened.
While celebrating what he framed as an orderly exit conducted with dignity and respect, Trump also praised Iraq's current leadership, noting that Washington remains open to assisting if necessary as the nation enters a completely post-coalition era.
Transcript:
Trump: Thank you very much, everyone. I think you read my release. I put it out on Iraq. We’re out of there. We have a very good prime minister, who I endorsed actually in the election. He was not doing particularly well, but he was a great gentleman and a great man, and I endorsed him and he won. And we left Iraq after 23 years and billions and billions of dollars spent. Shouldn’t have been there in the first place, but we’re now gone and we took everything with us. Every — every nut, every bolt, every screw. Every tank, every plane. We’re — we left Iraq, isn’t that nice? Should have never been there, but we should have left a long time ago. So, I’m very honored to tell you that. And we left with dignity and respect. In fact, the prime minister has great respect for your president and for us, and he appreciates everything. And we’ll be there to help if we — if we need to. But that’s a big thing. We’re out of Iraq after 23 years.
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TIPP Staff
