Trump’s unannounced visit to Iraq sparks controversy

Tabnak – In a surprise move which is deemed by many as a breach of the Iraqi government’s sovereignty, US President Donald Trump paid an unannounced visit to an American military base in Iraq. The move has been faced with a wave of criticism from different Iraqi political factions.

According to the media reports, 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.

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.

The Kata’ib Hezbollah group also stressed that the resistance front would make the US withdraw its forces from Iraq, adding that the fact that Trump made a surprise trip meant that “he does not feel safe announcing his visit to Iraq.”

“The decision to withdraw US troops belongs to the will of the people and its parliament; the resistance will force the United States to withdraw its troops from Iraq,” the group’s spokesman Jafar al-Hussaini told al-Mayadeen. “Leaders in the Iraqi resistance vowed to cut the hand that extends to neighboring countries including Syria,” he added.

On Wednesday, Trump spent a few hours at al-Asad Air Base in Iraq’s western Anbar Province but did not visit Baghdad. He acknowledged security concerns about visiting Iraq, saying it was “pretty sad” that he needed such secrecy to see US troops.

The US, backed by the UK, invaded Iraq in 2003 under the pretext that the former regime of Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. No such weapons, however, were ever found in the country. The invasion led to the rise of terrorist groups such as Daesh.