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Trump's defense chief lands in Iraq on unannounced visit

Monday, February 20, 2017 - 01:15

U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis arrives in Iraq on an unannounced trip to the country and meets with commanders of the Combined Joint Task Force. Rough Cut (no reporter narrartion)

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ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) The U.S. military is not in Iraq "to seize anybody's oil," Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said, distancing himself from remarks by President Donald Trump before arriving on an unannounced visit to Baghdad on Monday (January 20). Mattis, on his first trip to Iraq as Pentagon chief, is hoping to get a first-hand assessment of the war effort as U.S.-backed Iraqi forces launch a new push to evict Islamic State militants from their remaining stronghold in the city of Mosul. However, he is likely to face questions about Trump's remarks and actions, including a temporary ban on travel to the United States and for saying America should have seized Iraq's oil after toppling leader Saddam Hussein in 2003. Trump told CIA staff in a January speech: "We should have kept the oil. But okay. Maybe you'll have another chance." Mattis, however, flatly ruled out any such intent. "We're not in Iraq to seize anybody's oil," he told reporters traveling with him.

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