troops in iraq.sit to a combat zone since become being president, and it comes amid his decision to pull troops out of receiveri cyria -- syria, the resignation of james mattis. fred, obviously the kremlin has reacted to the president's decision to pull troops out of syria. today the president said, quote, our presence in syria was not open ended. he seems to be sticking by this decision, despite the criticism here in the united states. how is this news being received where you are? >> reporter: well, certainly it's one of the things i think the kremlin will be very happy to hear the president say this and certainly second his decision to pull out of syria. i think they're going to be watching this very, very carefully and very clearly watching this because one of the things that we've heard over the past couple of days here in moscow is the russians on the one hand applauded president trump's decision to leave syria. they said it's something that was long overdue. the russians of course believe the

ambassador to iraq. the way that works a very small group of journalists that is sworn to secrecy and would have met president trump late last night. so late christmas night in the very late hours or early morning hours, they would have taken off for iraq and then landed. as we have been telling you, the president spoke there for about 20 minutes but, we are not able to get the video out yet because of the and some of the transmission issues. the president on the ground though according to one of the npr coolers, trump said that isis is "very nearly defeated and if isis were to have a resurgence, how do your sources at the pentagon feel about that? are they confident that the troops in iraq are enough? >> you recall in 2014 or 2015, isis controlled area the size of ohio across iraq and syria. it was a caliphate. despite president obama launching the first air strikes and deploying the troops back into iraq, isis has been hit hard. the caliphate has been crushed and destroyed. and, you also have b-1 bombe

troops during his brief visit to iraq. we came to al assad to share our eternal gratitude for everything you do to keep america safe strong and free. accompanied by first lady maloney a trump the president shook hands with service members at an air base one hundred sixty kilometers from baghdad he posed for selfies and signed autographs including one on a make america great again campaign camp he bragged about the defeat of eisel on his watch two years ago when i became president there were a very dominant group they were very dominant today the not so dominant anymore. the visit came amid continuing fallout from trump's abrupt decision to pull out all u.s. forces from syria our presence in syria was not open ended and was never intended to be permanent trump said the withdrawal from syria would be strong deliberate and orderly he also met with military commanders i think it's an opportunity for him to explain to his generals on the ground and the troops on the ground what the syria withdrawal means and most importantly he

make iraq look like a walk in the park.nd 9/11 coming our way. >> that decision by the president coming very soon. thank you for joining us. "ac360" starts right now. >>> good evening to you. i hope you had a very good christmas holiday. president trump and the first lady have just landed at ramstein air base in germany on their way diploma a surprise visit to the troops in iraq. it is an important trip. the kind of visit he had been criticized for not doing yet in his administration. that said, he is returning to a largely chaotic situation in washington. much of it in his own making. especially in reason days. since just last week he's let large chunks of the government shut down over funding for his demanded border wall. he mentioned it today while

in what he is doing in this transitional period for iraq. if you look at the history of modern iraq since two thousand and three you might say that no leader has come through who's been able to settle iraq and govern with the consent of enough of the majority to bring iraq to a stable condition and to political security and of the have the latter uk by the head of foreign oil on the head what i ate dairy but emma you saw the whole erratically and that here lesson. well it's the whole i know you had a clean. movie about the glad gun when at many you're not really. the call my letters i was when she i was from the first yeah. well here and there he is in the me she has the malay whatever in the letter then one is a while back then you're. in that. you are rude. to model the hardage and he doesn't every kid can attest to that even with really. he a limb. and then the home just what i me. when my dad bought him a card with. a two commander to the. iraqi resistance to the u.s. occupation increased as the thick terry and killings the country fell

at al-assad, iraq. after announcing that all u.s.would be leaving syria, iraq's neighbor to the west. he spent about three hours on the ground, the first lady along with him, and met with commanders and troops there as well as the u.s. ambassador to ir

troops in iraq today. it's the first commander-in-chief trip to a conflict zone and comes only days after he announced u.s. forces will be pulling out of syri syria. the president also had plenty to say about the government shutdown and his demand for billions of dollars from congress for a border wall. we'll get reaction from democratic congressman denny heck, a member of the intelligence committee and our correspondents, analysts and specialists. they have full coverage of the day's top stories. first, let's start with cnn white house correspondent, abby phillip. the white house, abby, kept the president's trip under wraps, as expected, until just a couple of hours ago. >> reporter: that's right, jim. president trump here left the white house under the cover of darkness on christmas day, and president trump said that he had been planning this trip for several weeks, but it had been rescheduled numerous times due to security concerns. but in the three hours that they spent on the ground, they met with tro

he's been on a plane to iraq and in iraq all day long. no tweets. no statements.olatility and uncertainty. >> he has been commenting a lot lately, and he went very quiet, which was actually kind of one of the early signs he may be off on a foreign trip we didn't know about, until he landed in iraq. but the president has not been shy about his frustrations over the fed and over the rising interest rates and tweeting frantically about it. we had that surprise call that secretary -- mnuchin put out over the weekend with the six banks. also adding to this uncertainty is the issue of the government shutdown. >> stand by on that. i want to get straight to the white house, jessica dean, for more on where things stand on this shutdown, which is in day, what? four now jessica? >> reporter: that's right, dana. we have been monitoring everything back here at home as president trump has been on his surprise trip to iraq. but as he's been overseas meeting with troops, there has been a lot of play back here at home. president trump made his first visit to troops in a surprise t

isis is very much a threat to iraq. they're concerned about our withdrawal, the syrian withdrawal because they'll have to obviously step up. i think the real message is not that we're suckers, it's a question mark. so the allies are thinking we are looking weak and may not be the most reliable allies. for the troops, the message is i'm here, i care. i'm going to give you support but it's not unconditional. >> i'm trying to, charlie sykes, figure out i guess we'll see polling on this i'm sure how this is going over with the public. i do wonder just after a decade and a half here of iraq, of afghanistan, sort of all the post 9/11 foreign policy developments, we see in polling there does seem to be more hesitancy than there was a decade and a half ago or so when it comes to deploying troops, the idea of not being the world's policeman. i think trump used that line in his speech today. that does seem to have some popular resonance. what is your sense of the public's reaction to the troop withdrawal from syria? >> well, i'm

troops remain in iraq. no i think you know what's happened yesterday and the curation of the statement of mr trump i think the speech of iraqi people now and old the majority of the iraqi people now they refuse. to interfere and that and celtic for the iraqi government then all the iraqi people and they're looking for the future of what is the future and do what what will doing that when he went in and american forces withdraw from syria what doing in iraq and you know the supporting for the entire community just for all the digits on the satellites then why they'd include is increasing that it's a sober pfizer's and the fighters or the soldiers in that space we don't need to even end and in the center of the. fighting between the iraqi troops and ice owns. american it's more the former for just four thousand soldiers now why they why they increase them this is the iraqi people now they talk about the future it's death change for their medicare in the global policy strategy g. and in them and that is and is

troops in iraq.he commander in chief defended his widely-criticized plan to withdraw forces from neighboring syria, claiming isis has been knocked out, quote, silly. the president says he is in no hurry to find a permanent replacement for defense secretary james mattis who quit in protest. mr. trump suggests he is not in a rush to end the partial government shutdown here in the u.s. as well. this hour i will talk with a key democrat on the house armed services committee, congressman john garamini. our correspondents and analysts are standing by at this hour. first to our white house correspondent, abby phillip, there was growing pressure on the president to finally visit troops in a combat zone and today he did it. today was the day. >> reporter: today was the day, jim. president trump two years into his presidency finally leaving the united states and heading to a combat zone where u.s. troops are stationed, but this is one of those conflicts that president trump has been talking about for many, man

will stay in iraq, so it's not extending the brawl from syria to iraq.e has also said, people should expect deputy secretary of defense, the soon-to-be acting secretary of defense, patrick shanahan, the stay there for some time. that's an indication that we will have an acting role at the defense department. remember, jim mattis resigning over that decision to withdraw from syria. it looks like shanann could be there for some time. >> i also want to bring in ash carter, mark jacobson, douglas oliphant is a former director of iraq for the national security council during the george w. bush administration. mark, let me ask you about what hans nichols just reported, of the many questions that the president answered on his way returning, he says he's in no hurry to name a new defense secretary. that shanahan could be there for a long time. and i wonder if it's business as usual when you have an acti ini director or does it leave everyone, particularly in an administration where i think you're going to have potentially at least five major senate confirmation

troops in iraq. but his visit last in just three hours on wednesday night to al asad airbase one hundred thirty kilometers west of baghdad provoked a strong reaction from some iraqi politicians. i think it is shameful for the iraqi prime minister to accept the u.s. president's invitation to go to the u.s. after his mockery of iraqi politicians and the iraqi government he entered iraq surreptitiously without any coordination and no respect for iraq's sovereignty i spent three hours celebration with soldiers as if you to achieved a great victory in fact this visit is considered to fish rather than a victory. there are five thousand two hundred u.s. troops currently in iraq a lot less than the invasion sent to remove saddam hussein in two thousand and three more recently reinforcements were sent to help iraqi government forces defeat eisel fighters who seized large areas of territory iraqi commanders declared victory over eisel a year ago but pockets of light still remain despite his long flight from wa

role in iraq.had another statement tonight that called the president's visit a blatant violation of iraq sovereignty -- that's fromi a poli who's considered close to iran. and there are real divisions inside the iraqi governments about . presence in iraq, is there not? >> and par iliamenthink, definitely's view has listed at least one of two groups as bei terrorist groups. they have about 15 members of parliament. of course, they will be vehiclel in their protest about the president trump's visit. that is expected. iraq enjs lot of speaking free media and not so paid voices out there, and there is real pressure that our gros within parliament are pushing for the u.s. to leave iraq, this against iraq's rests, but this is the reality that exists today in iraq, so you should expect a lot of voicerotesting that visit. >> so, jane ferguson, let's talk about security, and we talked about how air force one had to go in in the cover of darkness. president trump says i.s.i.s. has been defeated. there's no q

troops in iraq.his trip the president praised the battle being won against isis but is correspondent gillian turner reports, an old foe is promising a new threat. >> american and british intelligence officials are ringing alarm bells about an uptick in terrorist threats against airlines and airports around the world. >> terrorists are going to continue to target us, so we've got to keep targeting them. during the holiday season and all year-round. >> much of the u.s. government's attention has been focused on isis over the past four years. since its inception in 2014. >> we are destroying the bloodthirsty killers known as isis. we've done a very, very major job on isis. >> we have defeated isis. >> intelligence shows that al qaeda has been alive and well and making inroads into vulnerable regions. >> weekly linkages from al qaeda in west africa to al qaeda in syria to al qaeda in south asia. so in my judgment they are trying to regain relic relevance. >> al qaeda is looking to make a comeback and rea

ininvasion of iraq. and the fact that we have not given the kurds their due in terms of support of the administration, that's telling and sad, frankly. >> margaret in terms of the president's honesty there, boris in his piece played a sound bite saying to the troops you have not received a pay raise. they have -- troops have had a pay raise pretty much for the last 30 years, every year. you can argue whether it's enough. there's no way we could ever pay troops enough in my mind, however they had a pay raise every year. when he tells them they gave them their first pay raise in ten years, and that's not true. typically when presidents speak overseas particularly in combat zones, they like to tell the truth and stay away from politics, and that didn't happen. >> i don't know if the president knows what he did, and obviously members of the military know how much money they make and how much they made three years ago and five years ago and a lot of them have been there through the duration. i any we are goin

and he knows that if we go in and break iraq, it's ours.ve to go in and rebuild it. on the other side, rumsfeld and cheney just want to go in. >> when you're dealing with terrorist networks that can attack at any time, anyplace using any technique, you know before you start that you can't defend against that. therefore, you have no choice. we know they have weapons of mass destruction. we know they have active programs. there isn't any debate about it. >> powell is the odd man out here. he realized he couldn't affect the decision itself, so at that point he switched gears to try and effect how the decision would be carried out and persuaded the president to get public support. >> the democrats are opposed to the war. george bush is happy to have this become an issue. bush actually pushes the idea of having a resolution supporting the use of force in iraq before the congressional elections so that members of congress will feel compelled to vote for it. >> congressional opposition in both houses finally came down to a few hard core liberals w

troops in iraq.but his visit lasting just three hours on wednesday night to al asad airbase one hundred thirty kilometers west of baghdad provoked a strong reaction from some iraqi politicians how did. i think it is shameful for the iraqi prime minister to accept the u.s. president's invitation to go to the u.s. after his mockery of iraqi politicians and the iraqi government he entered iraq without any coordination and no respect for iraq's sovereignty spent three hours celebration with soldiers if you to achieve the great victory in fact this visit is considered to feel rather than a victory. there are five thousand two hundred u.s. troops currently in iraq a lot less than the invasion sent to remove saddam hussein in two thousand and three more recently reinforcements were sent to help iraqi government forces defeat eisel fighters who seized large areas of territory iraqi commanders declared a victory over a year ago but pockets of fight still remain despite his long flight from washington trump di

his trip to iraq, just ahead. brighthouse financial rom allow you to take advantage of growth opportunities with a level of protection in down markets. so you can be less concerned about your retirement savings. talk with your advisor about shield℠ annuities from brighthouse financial, established by metlife. so we improved everything. we used 50% fewer ingredients added one handed pumps and beat the top safety standards the new johnson's® choose gentle ♪ there's no place likargh!e ♪ i'm trying... ♪ yippiekiyay. ♪ mom. ♪ >>> welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. u.s. president donald trump and the first lady are on their way back to washington after visiting troops in iraq. it's the first time mr. trump visited a war zone during his presidency and it comes amid a tumultuous time back home. >> great job. >> reporter: in a surprise holiday season visit, president trump and first lady melania trump landed in iraq to visit with troopsatio s stationed at d

troops with an unannounced visit to iraq. it's his first trip to a combat zone since becoming president. plus wall street roars back setting a new record for single day stock gains. the plenty of market uncertainty remains. another border tragedy for the second time in matter of weeks, a migrant child dies in u.s. custody. >>> u.s. president trump and the first lady are over the atlantic at this hour heading back to washington after an entful day after christmas. for the first time in his presidency, mr. trump visited a war zone. spending time with troops and military leaders in iraq. he defended pulling the military from syria and said the u.s. cannot continue to be the worlds policeman. and he told the troops he came to share the country's gratitude for what they do. >> the other reason i'm here today is to personally thank you. and every service member throughout this region. for the near elimination of the isis territorial. in iraq. and in syria. two years ago, when i became president, there were a very dominant group. th

troops being pulled out of iraq. well personally yes i do think that iraq should have been added to the list but today's visit i think in that case for the time being that it won't be out of this list you know trump said that he would give them to me for the time being they're going to stay at the same time you know as i said with trump you can never be sure you know you could hear or see a tweet to in twenty four hours but as things stand as they are there doesn't seem to be any intentions of the americans to withdraw from iraq also you have to bear in mind that the iraqi that this saw use of american troops in iraq is a lot more a lot bigger than the size of all american troops in syria which were only two thousand in iraq also when it comes to oil which trump always focuses on iraq is a lot richer in oil than other countries where ali is that is that what you're saying you're basically saying the only reason u.s. troops i'm so i'm so sorry but the only reason u.s. troops would stay in iraq is because of assets in

. >>> donald trump in iraq. let's play "hardball." ♪ >>> good evening, i am steve car knack ee in for chris matthews. president trump made an unannounced trip to iraq to visit troops at a base west of baghdad today, this the first time he visited troops in a combat zone. last week the president shocked his own allies and advisers announcing a plan to withdraw troops from syria. in iraq today, he dcefended tha decision. >> if they want us to do the fighting, they also have to pay a price, and sometimes that's also a monetary price. so we're not the suckers of the world. we're no longer the suckers, folks, and people aren't looking at us as suckers, and i love you folks because most of you are nodding your head this way. >> the visit comes amid a growing stalemate in washington with part of the federal government still shutdown. the president spent much of the long christmas weekend alone in washington, raging against criticism of both that withdrawal from syria and his ouster of secretary of defense james mattis.

ambassador to iraq. going into western iraq would mean he most likely wouldn't have the opportunity to meet with any of the iraqi leaders. so it's a very interesting decision that they made to fly into there. the air base has a very interesting history for the u.s. military there in iraq. it was one of the largest for a long time. it was the second largest during operation iraqi freedom. it was home to the marines. going in the day after christmas and seeing these troops as soldiers and marineses there now who are away from their families for the holidays. >> the pictures are very striking. the christmas decorations and the standing ovation that the president got when he arrived. courtney kube. thank you. your knowledge and expertise is always invaluable. thanks to you. we appreciate it. >>> coming up, the secretary of homeland security has just commented about that second child who died while in the custody of customs and border patrol protection. we have breaking details coming up next. big news on the

military spokesman in iraq after the invasion fifteen years on from that invasion and occupation of iraq by the u.s. and its allies do you have any regrets you have anything you want to apologize for you think the u.s. should apologize for or don't think so i was on the record as apologizing for the abu ghraib problem the opera group situation obviously some of our soldiers had screwed up their the embarrass the nation the embarrass their credibility inside a brac i apologize for that but i think by and large there is nothing to apologize for nothing to apologize for so when the u.s. invaded iraq in two thousand and three in defiance of international law no w m d's found no al qaeda connections terror threat to the us increased thousands of people tortured hundreds of thousands killed millions displaced from their homes iran's influence increased in the region eisel born in iraq several trillion dollars burned through in the process you know that requires any kind of you know well we got some things wrong well we certainly did get some things wrong but that's what happens unlike being in

troops in iraq. but his visit last in just three hours on wednesday night to al asad airbase one hundred thirty kilometers west of baghdad provoked a strong reaction from some iraqi politicians and had to do. i think it is shameful for the iraqi prime minister to accept the u.s. president's invitation to go to the u.s. after his mockery of iraqi politicians and the iraqi government he entered iraq surreptitiously without any coordination and no respect for iraq's sovereignty i spent three hours celebration with soldiers if you to achieved a great victory in fact this visit is considered to feel rather than a victory. there are five thousand two hundred u.s. troops currently in iraq a lot less than the invasion sent to remove saddam hussein in two thousand and three more recently reinforcements were sent to help iraqi government forces defeat eisel fighters who seized large areas of territory iraqi commanders declared a victory over a year ago but pockets of fight still remain despite his long flight

military spokesman in iraq after the invasion fifteen years on from that invasion and occupation of iraq by the u.s. and its allies do you have any regrets you have anything you want to apologize for you think the u.s. should apologize for or don't think so i was on the record as apologizing for the abu ghraib problem the opera group situation obviously some of our soldiers had screwed up their the embarrass the nation the embarrass their credibility inside a brac i apologize for that but i think by and large there is nothing to apologize for nothing to apologize for so when. the us invaded iraq in two thousand and three in defiance of international law no w m d's found no al qaeda connections terror threat to the us increased thousands of people tortured hundreds of thousands killed millions displaced from their homes iran's influence increased in the region eisel born in iraq several trillion dollars burned through in the process you know that requires any kind of you know well we got some things wrong well we certainly did get some things wrong but that's what happens unlike being in

american troops are still there seven years after the official end of the iraq war. u.s. forces have conducted several major operations against the islamic state in iraq and the bottle of mosul just last year we can bring in richard for more on this thanks for joining us good to have on the program in a speech to those troops in iraq trump said. to withdraw from the country last week you that claim of course that islamic state has been defeated from syria. do you see any contradiction here between the policy on the two neighboring countries. well yeah and i think that if we go back and look at how the last mixtape gained strength it was because of. western entia and their weapon its allies in syria in the syrian civil war that opened the way for them to see territory in syria and expand that and seen huge amount of territory inside iraq and so i think nation actually trump the troops there and is going to fall because this is of course another trauma stunt where he wanted to change the subject the need to change the subject because of how bad he has been looking in t

they have really failed to accept the idea of shia power in iraq.y have been supportive of a sunni minority and many of who went into the isis and the extreme sunniism, and to the leave it up to the saudis is truly a case of the fox guarding the chickens. unfortunately, i mean, i wish that we had a better relationship with turkey, and it is afterall a nato member, but again, they cannot be relied on to have interests that are similar to ours. i think that what the president fundamentally doesn't understand is that we are not there for their interest, but we are there for our interests, and the problem is that he does not know what our ointerests are, and i would like to see his advisers getting busy to explaining it to him, so perhaps he could explain this to the base that we indeed have interests out there, and we'd rather be fighting isis in the middle east than on the streets of new york. >> all right. christopher hill, always a pleasure for your insights, sir. thank you a lot. >> thank you. >>> and lawmakers are heading back to work as day six o

he wants to keep troops in iraq, there are 5,000 troops in iraq.and he made it clear he wants to withdraw from syria and also gave us an explanation on the time line for their withdrawal. >> there will be a strong, deliberate and orderly withdrawal of u.s. forces from syria, very deliberate, very orderly, while maintaining the u.s. presence in iraq to prevent an isis resurgence and to protect u.s. interests and also to always watch very closely over any potential reformation of isis, and also to watch over iran. we'll be watching. >> we still don't have a lot of clarity how the president plans to withdraw those 7,000 troops from afghanistan. remember, he didn't visit afghanistan. his one trip was to iraq. western iraq, didn't make it to the capital, which could have complicated his potential meeting and make it unlikely he would have a meeting with the political leaders there. >> hans, there's been a fair amount of attention paid by a lot of folks to perhaps the president reviewing the identity of a navy s.e.a.l. on his visit. what more do we know

iraqi political leaders to his trip once and about iraq it wasn't about syria it was about one person donald trump he's been accused of being a coward. for not having visited the troops in combat. not having respect at the service spend on the progress that averse or is the answer for why the fight canceling a trip to belo woods the scene of a very major battle because it was raining and this also appeared although the trip must have been planted the depths of the same day as the new york tried story appeared page one story. making clear that the reason he got a draft deferments from vietnam was because they provided trips that the phones for was in fact attended is sponsored by real estate developer and got a sweetheart deal so this lets us donald trump responding to criticism about being a coward that had very little to do with iraq or iraqi policy and of course with the characteristic lack of diplomatic skills that has characterized this mistrust. this trip comes at a time of increased tensions between president trump and top military leadership in the u.s. is this trip going to do

troops in iraq earlier today.ven there he could not escape questions about challenges he faces here at home. let's discuss. patrick healy is here, april ryan as well. april is the author of the book "under fire: reporting from the front lines of the trump white house." good evening to both of you. hope you both have a great christmas. april, listen. the president made a surprise christmas visit, and we keep saying surprise. these trips are often -- not often. they're always planned because there's lots of logistics, so he surprised the troops, but this has probably been in the works for a while. he is following in the footsteps of presidents before him. >> yes. >> what stood out to you? what would be a normal visit for a president to make? >> well, first of all, don, you're absolutely right. you know, presidents before this president have done this before. what stood out is that it took this long. that's what stood out. many of the troops want to see that. it's a morale booster. but i talked to congressman elijah

military in iraq.e the air that he travels through, they have to have intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and air defense, essentially, if in the unlikely scenario somebody tried to engage, fire rockets, fire something at the base, ne have to have all of their military assets and radars up and running. all of this would have taken some weeks to fully plan out. the military, the secret service, they know how to do it. president george w. bush and president obama and traveling to afghanistan a number of times. this has to be well planned out long in advance and i think we can safely assume it was. >> to that end, if it was planned not too long ago, that would mean that james mattis, who is to at a certain degree at odds with president trump must have been involved in the planning of this trip, correct? >> reporter: i think he would have been slout live extremely aware of it. secretary mattis, who himself was scheduled to be overseas making a holiday trip to visit troops and that was cancelled som

at the same time you have seen rs inhe has ruffled feat iraq. donald trump is a democrat but not always someone who is democratic. n: thanks very much, chris buckler in washington. keeping our focus on the u.s. stock market, they have rebounded. erey have roared back to life after the worst hristmas eve. the dow index posted its biggest ever daily point gain, searching -- surging by more than 1000 points in a single trading session. earlier spoke to jonathan joseph, our business correspondent. jonathan: broadly speaking it has been a good day for u.s. markets. the main indices have risen. to put it intote c, it comes after the selloff, which comes monday at a time of year when we normally see a rallybut what we instead have the biggest of -- biggest ever selloff of the christmas eve on record. it is not a good idea to look too much into one day's numbers, but if you look at the broader picture, the s&p 500 is down 20% from the september high. that is a psychologically significant landmark and it gets to concerns about things at the white house i

troops in iraq. but his visit lost in just three hours on wednesday night to al asad airbase one hundred thirty kilometers west of baghdad provoked a strong reaction from some iraqi politicians. i think it is shameful for the iraqi prime minister to accept the u.s. president's invitation to go to the u.s. after his mockery of iraqi politicians and the iraqi government he entered iraq without any coordination and no respect for iraq's sovereignty i spent three hours celebration with soldiers as if you to achieved a great victory in fact this visit is considered to feel rather than a victory. there are five thousand two hundred u.s. troops currently in iraq a lot less than the invasion sent to remove saddam hussein in two thousand and three more recently reinforcements were sent to help iraqi government forces defeat eisel fighters who seized large areas of territory iraqi commanders declared victory over a year ago but pockets of fight still remain despite his long flight from washington trump didn't

troops in iraq. not deployed below brigade level it was the iraqi was themselves they were actually doing the fighting there were special forces operations this slightly different to the u.s. troops those special forces were embedded with iraqi troops and they were calling in airstrikes during the fight against eisel but he's really talking about the five thousand two hundred troops in iraq in a training capacity an advisory capacity so yes you know it's your question technically speaking you could use a rock as a forward operating base for operations within syria but you need a very clear strategy to do that and you need to ask the rockies whether that's something the iraqis will want the u.s. to do and that seemingly has an ok rank on live for us in baghdad emraan thank you the no go zone near an erupting volcano in indonesia has and widened and the alert level raised experts fear another massive eruption will cause a second tsunami at least four hundred thirty people were killed in a five meter hi

the creation of a state in parts of syria and iraq. while american planes were bombing i saw in syria the also enabled kurdish groups to take control of certain areas of northern syria in october twenty fifth teen and proclaim a kurdish province there. this could be seen as encouraging the idea of a federal division of syria as well as causing alarm bells for neighboring countries. in syria they are trying to get some kind of control with the help of russia the united states and. iranian regime and account on like has been lost in the one on a defacto have been taught. internationally they may not be recognized but de facto they will operate all of that and continue to talk it all create kinds of problems in the region. in me twenty. fifteen there were armed clashes in turkey between the government of friendship and the one and the p.k. case. the kurdish p.t.t. founded in one nine hundred seventy eight once a political entity of its own independent. in his better model put this on and on. just the middle fit into far the. tiny feet in.

troops in iraq looks like what?it is about ap3 to -- about a 3 to 4,000 strong logistics force. blake: pull out 20% of the troops that are there? >> that is what i can say. conduct raids and be able to do logistics on the ground and make sure we can come in to reinforce when we need to reinforce. it is time for other people to conduct this fight. the president was absolutely right. this was never an open-ended thing. the mission was to defeat isis. as you heard the president say, isis is mostly defeated. now time to withdraw, a phased withdraw. today we're attacking isis on the ground as well. just because we're leaving doesn't mean we're quitting. blake: retired brigadier general anthony tate at that. merry christmas to you and yours. >> merry christmas. susan: the government remains portionly shutdown as the political blame game continues. we'll get to the latest fallout. just a few days left until 2019. and democrats are starting to gear up for the 2020 election. the big steps they're taking and who is the leadin

i'll leave syria but keep a footprint in iraq. i haven't seen any good reporting to explain why he feels comfort in staying in iraq but discomfort in afghanistan and syria. i'd love to know if there's any actual thinking and logic or whether it's just anti-obama impulse. >> it's baffling because there isn't a coherent foreign policy and you see how republicans of all stripes have really struggled to respond to donald trump. if they want to be supportive, but they are more hawkish, they find themselves in this really uncomfortable position of defending donald trump when the facts are not, you know, backing up what their preferred ideology is. what consensus do you see on the left among emkrdemocrats as to they envision foreign policy being as the primary season approaches? >> it's certainly not what donald trump is doing. i think to your point, sam, he is -- he has been really clear. he's an isolationist, and he cozies up to dictators. even with syria, it's been reported that he spoke -- he spoke to -- oh, my gosh. vice president e

troops in iraq. reciprocal move the palestinian authority says it will back all imports of israeli vegetables fruit and poultry. and in sports roger federer lands his first big prize of the new tennis season. the president of the democratic public of congo joseph kabila was told that recent election violence is just politics but tensions are running high across the country ahead of sunday's presidential vote receive used live ammunition and to gas on protesters after a decision to delay some voting in opposition strongholds until march malcolm webb has more from kinshasa. in the eastern city of goma police blocked people from protesting in eastern city of benny police fired in the air to break up the marches they were processing through the streets but several eyewitnesses are telling us in some places we have allowed roadblocks to continue just to kill anything to protesters with one signals suggesting that the policemen themselves support opposition candidate martin fire you leave is very popular i

forces in iraq. he did not meet with any iraqi officials during his three hours on the ground but did speak with the iraqi prime minister by phone in between shaking hands and taking photos with the troops. the second leg of the trip was a stop in germany, an important staging post for u.s. troops on their way to and from conflicts around the globe. they are the president met with troops, shaking hands and taking photographs. the planning for the trip to iraq had a partly been in the works for several weeks, shannon, and for those in our highly politicized world to fill the need to keep score, president george w. bush made four troops to iraq while he was in the white house. president obama made one. shannon. >> shannon: all right, jonathan, thank you for the update. footage from the turkey-syria border. u.s. troops patrolling amid new threats. it's a very tense situation. here with the, fox news correspondent david. he joined fox news and then his wife had a baby on friday. congratulations. your fir

what president trump has set in iraq, there are no plans to pull out of that country and he said iraqually be used as a base if there was to be further us action in syria. as for as us troops are concerned, he has been very clear that it will be a slow, a corrugated pull—out. there are some people in washington, as well as globally, other world leaders like president macron, who have made their view clear they are concerned about how mrtrump is clear they are concerned about how mr trump is viewing foreign policy at the moment. this trip and it is something that has been done by presidents over the years. it is something done to boly up morale. is also showing the president wants to shore up foreign—policy, that he was foreign—policy to be as he thinks. there is no doubt that many in washington thinks that is what you be more isolationist as before and that certainly american interests, in front of other countries. douglas ollivant was the directorfor iraq at the national security council during both the bush and obama administrations. hejoins me now from washington. were there any bi

has there been any reaction to trump's surprise visit to iraq. well there's a bend some reaction on twitter certainly with the predictable trump bashers. sort of downplaying the significance of the visit and trump's. supporters praising him for this but i think that daryn this is likely to quell the the line of criticism that has come out then and was particularly pronounced after the president skipped a visit to a u.s. military ceremony cemetery in france during commemoration of the one hundred anniversary of the end of the first rule war because it was raining and then people were pointing out that he never visited troops and this was in contrast to his predecessors presidents bush and obama who did visit troops in combat zones early in their presidency so that's probably likely to have been quashed but there still remains a great deal of controversy over the president's decision to pull out troops from syria we heard him ron's report to talking about that concern in iraq here in the united states that's also a concern that led to the resignati

troops in iraq and germany, but iraq's current ruling political party open lly criticized his visit. confidence is down as china prepares to meet in efforts to calm down the trade war. and it's day six of the government shut down. here's a status update from republican senator bill cassidy. >> merry christmas and happy holidays. not much happened in washington as best i can tell. the president needs to sign a deal and schumer needs 10 votes. you are asking me will schumer move? i don't know that. i don't know his mind. should he move? absolutely. it won't be as far as where he has been before and it will be good for our country. >> more on the shut down standoff in minutes. the president parachutes into a war zone and leaves with controversy back to washington. the president in iraq at the air base forced the first visit to troops deployed overseas. the commander in chief shook hands and signed maga hats later in germany at another base. he took selfies with troops and the sight of an american president boosting the morale on the frontlines. a good look for any white house, but this

military spokesman in iraq after the invasion fifteen years on from the invasion and occupation of iraq by the u.s. and its allies do you have any regrets you have anything you want to apologize for you think the u.s. should apologize for or don't think so i was on the record as apologizing for the abu ghraib problem the opera group situation obviously some of our soldiers had screwed up their the embarrass the nation the embarrass their credibility inside of iraq i apologize for that but i think by and large there is nothing to apologize for nothing to apologize for so when the u.s. invaded iraq in two thousand and three in defiance of international law no w m d's found no al qaeda connections terror threat to the us increased thousands of people tortured hundreds of thousands killed millions displaced from their homes iran's influence increased in the region eisel born in iraq several trillion dollars burned through in the process you know that requires any kind of you know well we got some things wrong well we certainly did get some things wrong but that's what happens unlike being i

in what he is doing in this transitional period for iraq if you look at the history of modern iraq since two thousand and three you might say that no leader has come through who's been able to settle iraq and govern with the consent of enough of the majority to bring iraq to a stable condition and to political security and of the have the ladder up by the head of. the head what i ate dairy but emma you fall for him. and that he had less in the. well is the hob i know you had a clean limit movie about the gun when it accept your naively. the call my letters i was when it said she i was and for. all i hear and he certainly was me she has the will i have a new letter i want to go wild back then have definite allotment of men that. you are rude. to model for hardage that he doesn't every kid can attest to that even with philly. he elim. the door after he. been home just what i me. when the. bottom are cut where the. bottom share. a took. the. iraqi resistance to the u.s. occupation increased as to tarry in killings the country fell deeper into chaos causing some americans to call for the div

as faras itself to looking at the address of iraq., he has not hidden a lot of he of course campaigned with the words "america first", and he believes people will be thankful when troops are back in the us. but he also denied that there are republicans sitting in congress watch a lot of this who are concerned the president is making snap decisions, perhaps not speaking to some advisers had he goes forward. but he seems determined to follow his own policies at the moment. even when he was standing alongside us troops, in iraq, he was not backing down on that commitment to leave syria that he made after speaking to the turkish president erdogan. if you do the sense president trump is somebody who believes he is making great decisions and ultimately intends to follow through on them. chris, for the moment, thank you very much indeed. chris buckler, are washington correspondent. we can also discuss president trump's moved to remove troops from iraq. let's speak to professor scott lucas from the department of political science and internat

during a surprise trip to iraq.dible video of the troops reacting to president trump's appearance. [cheers] [chanting u.s.a.] jillian: wow. the president's first words in responds at ease. at ease. todd: sarah sanders incredible this moment with the press. powerful moment member of the united states army told the president he came back into the military because of him. and president trump responded and i am here because of you. sanders continued, quote: he met him after and he gave me the patch from his arm. incredible #trump troops visit. he also got a picture with the president. that's pretty awesome. jillian: it's time for the good, the bad, and the ugly. best sound effect. start with the good. a 3-year-old boy is burning down the house getting the ultimate christmas gift to be just like talking head singer david berne. ♪ ♪ jillian: his mother sharing this video of little boy singing along from the hit stop making sense complete with the suit to match berne's. it's talking heads, jillian mele. who knew? love it t

team deployed to iraq. the commander in chief can declassify information, but the location and identity of the operations unit would not be publicly revealed especially while the unit is deployed. >> it started with the selfie. when the president took the selfie with the chaplain. after the president left iraqi air space, he tweeted a video of the members of the s.e.a.l. team. we are not showing it to protect their cover. such special operations information is a violation of security. >>> we are entering day six of the portion government shutdown with no apparent end in sight. speaking to reporters and u.s. troops, the president vowing to continue the shutdown until he gets funding for his border wall. >> i don't know if you are aware of what is happening. we want to have strong borders. the democrats don't want to let us have strong borders. only for one reason. you know why? because i want it. >> whatever it takes. we're going to have a wall. we'll have safety. we need safety for our country. >> the presi