Trump redoubles vow to withdraw troops from Iraq

US President Donald Trump has once again promised Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to withdraw the few US terrorist forces who are still in Iraq.

In his first meeting with the Iraqi premier which took place at the White House on Thursday, Trump said that although he was looking forward to the day when all US troops could leave Iraq, American businesses were already making “very big oil deals” there.

“We’ll be leaving shortly,” he told reporters. “We have very few soldiers in Iraq ... but we’re there to help. And the prime minister knows that.”

He, however, did not elaborate on the exact time US terrorist forces would exit the country.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also told reporters Washington was working with Baghdad to bring the number of US troops in Iraq “down to the lowest level as quickly as we can.”

The United States has had nearly 5,000 troops in the West Asian country, and coalition allies another 2,500.

In June, the US and Iraq affirmed their commitment to the reduction of American troops in Iraq in coming months, with Washington declaring no plan to maintain permanent bases or a permanent military presence in the country.

Iraqi lawmakers unanimously approved a bill on January 5, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign military forces led by the United States from the country following the martyrdom of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the Commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Deputy Head of Iraq's PMU, and their companions in a US airstrike authorized by Trump near Baghdad International Airport two days earlier.

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