Mike Pence Makes Iraq Visit to Reassure Kurdish Allies
- Vice president also meets U.S. troops ahead of Thanksgiving
- Visit follows Trump decision to pull U.S. forces from Syria
Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence arrive to speak to troops at Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq, Nov. 23.
Photographer: Andrew Harnik/AP Photo
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Vice President Mike Pence made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Saturday, where he met the president of the country’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to reassure the longtime allies who fought in the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State.
In Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan region, the vice president said the U.S. hopes to keep a strong relationship with the Kurds that was shaken by President Donald Trump’s decision last month to withdraw forces from northeastern Syria.