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The Abadi-Trump Meeting Focuses on Daesh

The Abadi-Trump Meeting Focuses on Daesh
folder_openIraq access_time7 years ago
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Local Editor

The US President Donald Trump held his first meeting with Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi Monday as the former shapes his policy for defeating Daesh [the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri ‘ISIS/ISIL' group].

The Abadi-Trump Meeting Focuses on Daesh

With al-Abadi at the White House, Trump said Iran is one of the issues his team will discuss with the Iraqi delegation. Trump took the opportunity to criticize the nuclear deal his predecessor, Barack Obama, pursued with Iran.

"One of the things I did ask is, ‘Why did President Obama sign that agreement with Iran?' because nobody has been able to figure that one out," Trump said. "But maybe someday we'll be able to figure that one out."

Trump said he hopes to address the "vacuum" that was created when Daesh claimed Iraq and added that "we shouldn't have gone in" to Iraq in the first place.

Speaking after Trump during the bilateral meeting, Abadi said that Iraq has "the strongest counterterrorism forces, but we are looking forward to more cooperation between us and the US."

Trump campaigned on a promise to dramatically ramp up the assault on Daesh and has vowed to eradicate "radical terrorism." So far, he has not indicated a dramatic change of course. Like Obama before him, Trump has not suggested any sharp increases in troop levels or in airstrikes against militant targets, looking to avoid giving off the image of an invading force.

The Iraqi premier's first visit to Washington since Trump's inauguration came before Trump hosts a 68-nation meeting geared toward advancing the fight against the militant group.

During Abadi's last visit to Washington, the Iraqi premier worked to drum up greater financial and military support as he faced the daunting task of rebuilding cities destroyed.

He also sought greater assistance to help the country confront a humanitarian crisis, with more than 4 million people displaced in the fighting.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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