When asked about Iraq’s parliamentary vote to expel American troops from the country as a response to the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian General Qasam Soleimani, Gillibrand said, “We’re in Iraq explicitly to help to defeat ISIS. We were asked why the Iraqi government several years ago to do joint missions and to train the Iraqi forces to they can defeat terrorism in the region. So if the Iraqis no longer want us to coordinate our efforts to defeat ISIS, I think that’s problematic.”
She added, “There’s no reason that we have to have troops in Iraq, but what President Trump has done is lead recklessly. His foreign policy does not have a strategic vision. He no longer consults or works with our allies. He seems to make decisions on a whim. It’s making us much less safe. And the only person or people that are benefitting from this chaos is ISIS.”
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