Trump’s invented history of Iraq war — Atlantic 08/16 PolitiFact
Trump, March 16, 2007, on CNN: You know how they get out? They get out. That’s how they get out. Declare victory and leave, because I’ll tell you, this country is just going to get further bogged down.
2008-12 Trump on Iraq etc British GQ
If you were president, how would you quick-fix the country?
First, I’d get out of Iraq right now. And by the way, I am the greatest hawk who ever lived, a far greater hawk even than Bush. I am the most militant military human being who ever lived.
Also: McCain, … But I wish he would promise to get us out of Iraq faster.
Trump’s Iraqi obsession wasn’t ISIL but oil — Politico
Asked by CNN’s Piers Morgan in a February 2011 interview what he would do about U.S. troops in Iraq, Trump said he would “get them out real fast.”
Piers Morgan: If you were president would you take all American troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq now? [transcript] Trump: Well, Iraq, we shouldn’t have been there and I’d get them out real fast.
In a March 2008 speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, Clinton warned that “we cannot allow Iraq to become a breeding ground and safe haven for terrorists,” adding that her withdrawal plan “will not mean retreating from fighting terrorism in Iraq.”
“That’s why I will order small, elite strike forces to engage in targeted operations against Al Qaeda in Iraq,” Clinton added.
U.S. officials say Clinton repeated those concerns during meetings of Obama’s national security team, siding with military officials who wanted to preserve a residual troop force in Iraq beyond 2011, even if it numbered only in the few thousands.
Troop withdrawal history — Wikipedia
10/17/2011 US Withdrew from Iraq — USA Today
Throughout the discussions, Iraqi leaders have adamantly refused to give U.S. troops immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts, and the Americans have refused to stay without it.
10/21/2011 US Withdrawal — Guardian
The Iraqi decision is a boost to Iran, which has close ties with many members of the Iraqi government and which had been battling against the establishment of permanent American bases.
16-01-02 Somali al-Shabaab video using Trump The Telegraph
3/20/16 CIA and R senator say Trump helping ISIS TPM
3/24/16 Trump in ISIS recruitment video based on Brussels — see also Politico
02/20 A guide to Trump’s shifting position on Iraq — Buzzfeed
08/11 Trump cite’s Iraq withdrawal he passionately supported — Buzzfeed
“You know how they get out? They get out,” Trump said to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “That’s how they get out. Declare victory and leave, because I’ll tell you, this country is just going to get further bogged down. They’re in a civil war over there, Wolf. There’s nothing that we’re going to be able to do with a civil war. They are in a major civil war.”
08/11 Trump’s “Obama founded ISIS” talk in Florida — Rolling Stone
“In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama,” Trump said of ISIS fighters. “He’s the founder of ISIS. He’s the founder of ISIS. He’s the founder. He founded ISIS.” He linked Hillary Clinton to the militant group as well, noting, “the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.”
08/15 Transcript of Trump’s national security speech — Time
“I have long said that we should have kept the oil in Iraq
“through the presence of U.S. forces necessary to safeguard the oil
“I was saying this constantly and to whoever would listen: keep the oil, keep the oil, keep the oil, I said – don’t let someone else get it.
“If they had listened to me then, we would have had the economic benefits of the oil
“This proposal, by its very nature, would have left soldiers in place to guard our assets. In the old days, when we won a war, to the victor belonged the spoils.
08/15 Trump thinks America was too nice to Iraq — the Atlantic
8/16 Trump admits he said “Get out of Iraq” — Buzzfeed
