Trump's Unexpected Visit Draws Criticism in Iraq

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US President Donald Trump’s unscheduled trip to Iraq met with harsh criticism from the Arab country’s political figures and parties, with some denouncing the move as a violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.

For the first time since he became US president almost two years ago, Trump 
paid a surprise visit to American troops in Iraq on Wednesday. He landed at an 
airbase west of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, where he thanked the soldiers 
for their service.

But Trump’s planned meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi was 
canceled over dispute about the location of the meeting.

Meanwhile, Iraqi political parties and figures have condemned Trump’s 
visit as a violation of their country’s sovereignty.

Sabah al-Saadi, the leader of the Islah parliamentary bloc, called for an 
emergency session of the 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 bloc underlined that the US withdrawal from Syria is no justification for using 
Iraq as a base for American troops.

The Bina bloc, Islah's rival in parliament, also objected to the US president'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," a 
statement from Bina said.

In separate comments, Hashim al-Mousavi, the spokesperson for Iraq's 
al-Nujaba Movement, a major Shiite resistance group, underlined that “stupid 
Trump” must be aware that there is no place for US military bases in Iraq. He also 
said the time has come for the Iraqi government to expel the American forces, 
whose presence damages Iraq’s sovereignty, according to Alsumaria news.

Jafar al-Hosseini, a spokesman for Iraq’s Hezbollah Battalions also 
condemned Trump’s visit, stressing that the Islamic resistance forces will force 
the US to pull its troops out of Iraq.

Abdul Mahdi’s office said in a statement that US authorities had informed 
Iraq’s leadership of the presidential visit in advance. The statement said the Iraqi 
prime minister and the US president held a telephone conversation due
to a "disagreement over how to conduct the meeting".

Iraqi legislators told Reuters news agency that the two leaders had disagreed 
over where their planned meeting should take place: Trump had asked to meet 
at the Ain al-Asad military base, an offer Mahdi declined.

Trump's visit to Iraq came a week after his decision to withdraw all US troops 
from neighboring Syria despite strong objections from domestic and foreign 
allies. Pentagon chief Jim Mattis and the US envoy to the coalition purportedly 
fighting the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group quit shortly after Trump's announcement.

In a speech at the Ain al-Asad Airbase, Trump defended his decision to pull 
US soldiers out of Syria while insisting he has no similar plans for Iraq.