Obama Troop Withdrawal Leads to Al Qaeda Flags Flying over Western Iraq

You could “count on one hand” the number of combat veterans in Congress that served in Iraq or Afghanistan, Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), a former Navy pilot and combat Veteran in Iraq, told Breitbart News Executive Chairman and host Stephen K. Bannon on Breitbart News Sunday.

Bannon, a former Navy Destroyer Officer whose daughter is also a veteran and West Point Graduate, admitted on the Sunday show that aired on Sirius XM Patriot channel 125 that he is “shocked that there is not more veterans around.” The Oklahoman congressman responded to Bannon, saying, “I’ll tell you what shocks me, how the president of the United States makes political decisions when he should be making decisions in the best interest of our county.”

Bridenstine cited as an example how in Iraq when we were trying to get a “Status of Forces Agreement” signed, the president, instead of withdrawing troops responsibly, made a political decision based on campaign promises that he made in 2008 and pulled U.S. troops out entirely. Moreover, Bidenstine told Bannon that the fact that he assigned Vice President Joe Biden to be in charge of the Status of Forces Agreement added insult to injury. He points out that Robert Gates in his new book Duty said, “Biden was wrong on every foreign policy issue for the last 40 years.” Biden was opposed to American participation in both Iraq wars.

Back in 2006, the congressman pointed out that then-Senator Obama said that if we did a precipitous withdrawal of troops in Iraq it would result in “mayhem in the broader Middle East.” Bridenstine agreed with Obama’s assessment back in 2006. “Unfortunately, when he ran for president he changed his position, and when he became president he followed through on his campaign promises,” he added.

The congressman stated that as a result of the precipitous withdrawal of our troops, western Iraq has been turned over to Al Qaeda. He further stated that western Iraq is now being used to launch attacks into Syria. Bannon quickly added, “The flag of Al Qaeda flies over Fallujah.” The Al Qaeda flag flies over Ramadi as well, added the congressman. Both cities are in Anbar Province, where many American troops died fighting, but also where the battle for Iraq shifted in the favor of America.

According to Bridenstine, President Obama “is undermining all of the gains our county made and is turning the broader Middle East into an area of chaos.”