US President Donald Trump has described the departure of American forces from Iraq as a victory for the United States and the conclusion of what he called an “excursion from hell”, according to Middle East Eye.
Speaking during an event at the White House on Wednesday, Trump also characterised the move as a victory for Iraq. He linked the US departure to the campaign against the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, calling it a decisive success over the organisation and saying it had been “completely decimated”.
Trump claimed credit for defeating the group during his first administration. He said his administration had taken the group out, presenting the troop departure as connected to that outcome. The remarks framed the withdrawal both as the end of a lengthy US military involvement and as the culmination of operations against Islamic State.
The president said the United States had been involved in the war for 23 years. In recounting the human cost for Americans, he said more than 4,500 US soldiers had been killed and 31,000 wounded, with some of those injuries described as very serious. Trump added that hundreds of civilian contractors had also died.
His comments focused on the duration and toll of the US presence while casting the departure as beneficial to both countries. He referred to the exit as “a victory for the United States” and said it “marks the end of an excursion from hell”. He separately called it a victory for Iraq and tied it to what he presented as the destruction of Islamic State.
Trump also said he had instructed US troops not to leave anything behind as they departed. Middle East Eye’s report did not provide further detail on those instructions or on the mechanics, timing or scale of the departure.
The White House remarks combined claims about the outcome of the anti-Islamic State campaign with a tally of US military and contractor losses. Trump’s account placed responsibility for the group’s defeat with his first administration and portrayed the withdrawal as the closing stage of a 23-year conflict.
Reporting attribution: based on reporting by Middle East Eye — original source: https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/trump-us-departure-iraq-marks-end-excursion-hell.