US Defense Secretary Mattis departs for Iraq from United Arab Emirates. © AP
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Baghdad on an unannounced visit on Monday, reportedly for discussions on defeating the ISIS terrorist group.
“Mattis’ arrived in Baghdad Monday on an unannounced visit as the battle to oust Islamic State militants from western Mosul moves into its second day. At the same time, the Pentagon is considering ways to accelerate the campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria,” NbcNewYork reported.
At the same time, Mattis attempted to distance himself fro President Trump’s remarks that the United States should have “kept” Iraq’s oil after the US-led invasion.
“We’re not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil,” he told reporters before departing for Baghdad from the United Arab Emirates.
Unfortunately for Mattis, the problem is that nobody believes in this.
Last weekend, Baghdad officially launched a military operation to liberate the western part of the major Iraqi city of Mosul from ISIS terrorists.
Mattis’ visit to Iraq is clearly linked to this development.
