By Sama Marwan,
Former U.S. President Donald Trump gave a speech to American soldiers at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, during which he revealed details of a secret trip he made to Iraq during his first term in office — a trip where he felt his life was in danger.
Trump said he decided to make the visit to meet with a U.S. general and understand why ISIS had not yet been defeated at the time. He added:
“I couldn’t understand how a terrorist group could survive for that long, so I said: I want to go there myself.”
Trump described the trip in detail:
“I left at 3:00 AM, and Air Force One was waiting for me. They told me, ‘Sir, we have a problem — we have to turn off all the lights and close the shades when flying over enemy territory.’ I said, ‘Okay.’”
He added:
“I couldn’t see anything — no lights, no flight paths. I don’t know how they did it.”
Trump pointed out that the visit was surrounded by tight security measures and was not announced in advance. While he didn’t specify the exact date, the White House had previously announced in December 2018 that President Trump and First Lady Melania made a surprise visit to Al Asad Airbase in Iraq’s Anbar Province, to congratulate U.S. troops for Christmas.
During the visit, Trump said he met with a general he referred to as “Raisin Cain” and asked him why ISIS hadn’t been defeated yet. The general reportedly replied:
“If you give me full authority, I can eliminate ISIS in just three weeks.”
Trump explained that the general told him that operational restrictions were forcing aircraft to launch from distant bases, reducing the effectiveness of airstrikes.
Trump concluded by saying:
“After I returned to Washington, I approved the plan. Not long after that, we defeated 100% of what they called the ISIS caliphate — unlike what they were telling me in the capital.”
