Over 2000 U.S troops have been withdrawn from Iraq according to Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of US Central Command.
CNN:
The US commander in the Middle East announced Wednesday a drawdown of US troops in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000 in the month of September.
“This reduced footprint allows us to continue advising and assisting our Iraqi partners in rooting out the final remnants of ISIS in Iraq and ensuring its enduring defeat,” Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, said.
McKenzie said the decision is due to the United States’ “confidence in the Iraqi Security Forces’ increased ability to operate independently.”
The report also says that a decision on Afghanistan is coming.
A senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday to also expect an announcement on troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in a couple days.
This is President Trump once again keeping his promises. Unlike prior presidents, Trump is not starting new wars. Unlike prior presidents, Trump is using strength to create peace.
President Obama pulled troops out and created a vacuum that made the situation worse. President Trump solved the problems.
He killed ISIS leader and co-founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi:
Al Jazeera:
The United States has carried out an operation targeting Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL or ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have told news agencies.
A US official told The Associated Press that the ISIL leader was targeted in Syria’s Idlib province. Another US official confirmed to Reuters news agency that the operation took place but did not disclose details and did not say whether it was successful.
Newsweek, citing a US Army official briefed on the result of the operation, said al-Baghdadi was killed in the raid.
This is a major win for the Trump Presidency. One of Obama’s only achievements during his Presidency was the killing of Bin Laden. With Trump killing al-Baghdadi he now can add the killing of a Terrorist monster to his list of achievements.
He destroyed the ISIS Caliphate:
The defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria rapidly accelerated during President Trump’s first year in office, beginning with the fall of East Mosul on Jan. 25, and continuing with a cascading series of defeats for the brutal terrorist group over the next 11 months.
The campaign liberated twice as many people and twice as much territory as in the previous 28 months under President Barack Obama, according to Defense Department figures.
On Jan. 20 — the day Trump was inaugurated — an estimated 35,000 ISIS fighters held approximately 17,500 square miles of territory in both Iraq and Syria.
As of Dec. 21, the U.S. military estimates the remaining 1,000 or so fighters occupy roughly 1,900 squares miles of mostly barren desert primarily in Syria, where few people live, and where they will be forced to surrender or die.
Between September 2014 when the counter-ISIS campaign began, and January 2017, U.S.-backed forces in Iraq and Syria liberated 13,200 square miles of territory and 2.4 million people from Islamic State rule.
In the 11 months since Trump took office, an additional 26,800 square miles have been reclaimed and 5.3 million people have been liberated.
And while the destruction of the ISIS caliphate was a validation of the Obama strategy of working “by, with, and through†partner forces, U.S. commanders gave Trump and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis credit for ending what was largely perceived as micromanagement and overly restrictive rules of engagement under Obama.
“We don’t get second-guessed a lot. Our judgment here on the battlefield in the forward areas is trusted. And we don’t get 20 questions with every action that happens on the battlefield and every action that we take,†said Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend when he turned over command of the coalition in September.
“Commanders now don’t, aren’t constantly calling back to higher headquarters asking for permission,†he said. “They’re free to act.â€
White House special envoy Brett McGurk, who also served in the same post under Obama, agrees the Trump adjustments accelerated the pace of defeat.
“These delegations of tactical authorities from the president has really made a difference on the ground,†McGurk said in August, “I’ve seen that with my own eyes.â€
Let me tackle a few things here. The first thing is how sensical this plan is. The idea that you should let your generals do what they think is best seems like common sense. Donald Trump realized this was a war and handled it like one.
The second is the idea that we used Obama’s tactics to destroy ISIS. Did we use these partner forces to help us? Of course. Did Donald Trump change how we interacted with them? Yes. His first move was stopping the sale of arms to them. So, we were using them but they were no longer being armed by us. As usual, there was backlash to this. That backlash went silent after it was discovered that many of these weapons ended up in the hands of ISIS. Report: Arms Supplied by the U.S. to Syrian Rebels Often Fell into the Hands of ISIS
Sure, part of Obama’s strategy was used but that strategy didn’t lead to them winning the war against ISIS. The bottom line is Trump allowed the military to do their job and because of that good things happened.
More winning…
The Palmieri Report is a Pro-America News Outlet founded by Jacob Palmieri two years ago at the age of 19. Since its founding, it has gotten over 2M pages views and over 20k followers. The Palmieri Report is dedicated to giving people the truth so that they can form their own informed political opinions.
