We’re raised to believe in Santa Claus, a mythical being that resembles an older white gentleman, clothed in a red-and-white robe, a red hat, and a jovially chubby belly full of wonder and lactose-fueled bloat. Even though I grew up Jewish, there was a time where I wholly believed that Santa would come down my chimney and bring me presents. There were several issues with this dream. The first of which had to do with the fact that we didn’t celebrate Christmas. Additionally, we didn’t have a chimney in my childhood home. Nevertheless, I envied all the other children who were visited by Santa. Each and every one of these children would wake up Christmas morning to find that the treats left out from the night before had been consumed, and beneath their family, Christmas tree were presents of all shapes and sizes. This, friends is an example of a wonderful holiday visit. On Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018, the day after Christmas, American military forces stationed in Iraq were gifted with a surprise from a famous character, although sadly this individual was not old St. Nick.
President Donald Trump, accompanied by his wife, Melania, decided to plan a surprise vacation to Iraq, leaving the US behind, still very much paralyzed by a partial government shutdown. The Trumps elected to visit troops stationed in the one location in the world where the president would never decide, on a whim, to withdraw US soldiers; the Iraqi city of Mosul. For those unfamiliar with President Trump’s affinity with Mosul, the city is the location where US forces defeated ISIS in its base of operations. Mosul is President Trump’s Sistine Chapel, his “Good Will Hunting,” the crown military victory of his presidency. Naturally, this would make a great winter vacation spot for him and his wife.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders shared details of the President’s journey to Iraq in a tweet late on Christmas night:
“President Trump and the First Lady traveled to Iraq late on Christmas night to visit with our troops and Senior Military leadership to thank them for their service, their success, and their sacrifice, and to wish them a Merry Christmas.”
–Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Though the President’s trip to Iraq was undoubtedly exciting for all military personnel stationed in the city of Mosul, Trump originally campaigned with a platform based on bringing all troops home if, and when, he was elected to office. About a week ago, President Trump ordered a rapid withdrawal of some two-thousands United States armed forces members from Syria, to be completed within thirty days. Remaining true to his absence of subtlety in the slightest, President Trump declared that his removal of said troops was due to the celebratory notion that after four, hard-fought years against the Islamic State, (ISIS) the US has emerged largely victorious.
“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.”
–President Donald Trump on Twitter
Aside from several concerns relating to the president’s third-person reference to his own administration, many members of the US government, including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, attacked President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria. When former president Barack Obama decided to withdraw American troops from Iraq in 2011, people were furious.
“Five years ago, ISIS was a very powerful and dangerous force in the Middle East, and now the United States has defeated the territorial caliphate. We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign.”
– Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House spokeswoman
According to recent statistics, the United States still has 14,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan, and about 2,000 in Syria, for the time being. Trump’s decision to solely withdraw troops from Syria has led to several officials’ resignation from the administration, namely former Defense Secretary James Mattis. Over the weekend, Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy to the coalition fighting ISIS decided to expedite his pre-planned resignation to just after the new year because of the president’s impromptu withdrawal from Syria.
“The recent decision by the president came as a shock and was a complete reversal of policy that was articulated to us. It left our coalition partners confused and our fighting partners bewildered. I worked this week to help manage some of the fallout but — as many if you heard in my meetings and phone calls — I ultimately concluded that I could not carry out these new instructions and maintain my integrity.”
–Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy
