U.S. military forces will remain in Iraq after the military defeat of the Islamic State in order to avert another resurgence of the terrorist organization, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced Wednesday.
“The military power of the coalition will remain where this fraudulent caliphate has existed in order to set the conditions for a full recovery from the tyranny of ISIS,” Tillerson at the State Department.
By leaving the troops in place, Trump will avoid what many Republicans regarded as President Obama‘s mistake of failing to secure an agreement that would allow U.S. troops to remain in Iraq beyond 2011. But the decision carries the political risk of continuing a military commitment to Iraq that Trump supporters might find wearisome.
