Trump in Iraq: US president defends Syria pullout during surprise trip

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03:32

We begin with US President Donald Trump's surprise visit to American troops in Iraq with First Lady Melania Trump. This was Trump's first trip to a conflict zone in nearly two years of his presidency. His visit has angered Iraqi politicians who termed it a violation of the country's sovereignty. Here's the full story.

US President posing for selfies with troops at the Joint Base al Asad west of Baghdad, smiling for the cameras after orchestrating a major military shake-up in Washington. While he addressed the US troops, the message was for the entire world.

DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "America shouldn't be doing the fighting for every nation on Earth. Not being reimbursed in many cases at all.So we're not the suckers of the world. We're no longer the suckers folks."

The visit comes just days after Trump announced a sudden withdrawal of 2,000 US troops from Syria. At the military base, Trump strongly defended his Syria pullout while promising to stay put in Iraq.

DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "While maintaining the U.S. presence in Iraq to prevent an ISIS resurgence and to protect U.S. interests and also to always watch very closely over any potential reformation of ISIS and also to watch over Iran. We'll be watching."

But Iraqi opposition leaders were not too pleased about the US President's visit, reminding him that the US occupation of Iraq ended long ago.

In fact, Trump did not meet any Iraqi officials during his three-hour visit.

A planned meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was scrapped due to a dispute over the venue of the discussions. So the two leaders spoke instead on the phone.

Donald Trump ran for the presidency promising to end nearly two decades of American military interventions. But the US still has a significant presence in a number of global warzones.

There are around 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan, 5,000 in Iraq, 800 troops in Niger, 500 in Somalia and undisclosed numbers in Libya and Yemen.

Although the Trump administration is planning to pull out around 7,000 troops from Afghanistan, many analysts question Trump's decisions to leave US-initiated wars midway.

Despite being a major player in the Syrian war not so long ago, Trump says reconstruction of the war-torn country isn't America's problem.

DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "We're not nation building. Rebuilding Syria will require a political solution. And it's a solution that should be paid for by its very rich neighboring countries, not the United States."

Till now, Trump's Middle-East policy has focused on cornering Iran by imposing economic sanctions. But by pulling out, experts believe the US has handed out a free pass to Iran in Syria. So, what really is America's endgame in the region or is it just about Trump's gut afterall?