US President Donald Trump on Wednesday acknowledged he had security concerns about visiting Iraq, saying it was "pretty sad" that he needed such secrecy to see US troops.

On a lightning trip to Iraq that came after mounting criticism that he had not already visited US forces abroad, Trump said he was concerned about making the journey "when I heard what you had to go through."

"I had concerns about the institution of the presidency. Not for myself personally. I had concerns for the First Lady, I will tell you," Trump, who made the trip along with his wife Melania, told reporters.

Trump, who left unannounced from Washington in the dead of night in a darkened plane, said that a "couple" of trips had been previously set up but canceled as word got out.

"Pretty sad when you spend $7 trillion in the Middle East, and going in has to be under this massive cover with planes all over and all of the greatest equipment in the world, and you do everything to get in safely," he said.

For "security reasons," the White House was only able to invite Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi to a meeting with Trump two hours before the scheduled time, spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Abdel Mahdi was in another part of Iraq and could not attend, she said.

Trump's trip came days after his sudden decision to withdraw all 2,000 US troops from Syria, arguing that the Islamic State jihadist group had been defeated and that the United States was paying too much on foreign interventions.

Related Links
Iraq: The first technology war of the 21st century

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Kids in Iraq camps dream big, but can't enroll in school
Hammam Al-Alil 2 Displacement Camp, Iraq (AFP) Dec 23, 2018
Maareb has big dreams, but she may never get to realise them. Every day, when her friends attend class in the Iraqi displacement camp they call home, she stays behind. The makeshift primary school in the dusty Hammam al-Alil 2 camp in Iraq's north opened earlier this year, but several thousand displaced children are unable to access it. For Maareb, the problem is paperwork. "I want to go to school with my friends, but I'm not allowed because I don't have an ID," says the seven-year-old, he ... read more