Trump praises Iraq PM as US completes military withdrawal
Trump says Ali al-Zaidi has his full support as Washington ends its military mission in Iraq after more than two decades.
US President Donald Trump has praised Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi as American forces complete their military withdrawal from Iraq, describing the Iraqi leader as a key figure in the next phase of US-Iraq relations, reports Anadolu Ajansı.
"This is a Great Day for America and, importantly, we leave with Iraq having a wonderful new Prime Minister, Ali al-Zaidi, somebody I supported from the beginning and fully endorsed," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"He won an Election that he was not expected to win, and did so, in a landslide!" he added.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Earlier Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced that the US and its coalition partners had formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq.
Trump also said the last American forces were leaving Iraq, declaring an end to more than two decades of US military involvement in the country.
"It has been a long time, with very bad decision-making that got us involved in this quagmire in the first place, but soon, that will be part of History," Trump said.
Trump said the withdrawal would mark the end of Operation Inherent Resolve and described the departure of coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base as an "orderly conclusion" to the US mission.
Trump described al-Zaidi as "outstanding" and said he hoped the Iraqi leader would manage the country's next phase successfully.
"He will hopefully be able to handle things very well. We came to fight a caliphate. There is no longer a caliphate. We are going home!" he said.
Later, while addressing a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, Trump said he was "very proud" of al-Zaidi and hoped he would "do a fantastic job".
He described the orderly departure of coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base as the end of what he called a "very expensive excursion into hell".
"And again, we took all of our equipment. I said, 'Take a little longer. Take everyone.' We left all of the equipment," he said.
Trump said he had chosen to withdraw rather than keep US forces in Iraq permanently.
"I had a choice to stay or to leave, and felt without question that it was time for America to go home," he said.
