In April 2009, President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to troops in Baghdad, where he greeted service members and gave an address. (Multi-National Corps Iraq Public Affairs/DVIDS)
President Trump made his first visit to a conflict zone as commander in chief this week, visiting troops at al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq on Wednesday. The unannounced journey took place just days after he declared that he planned to remove U.S. troops from Syria and saw his own defense secretary resign in response.
In April 2009, Trump’s predecessor in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama, made his own trip to Iraq to visit U.S. military personnel. It was his first visit as commander in chief, though he had also visited Iraq in July 2008 as a U.S. senator while campaigning for president.
The contrast between the two trips is sometimes stark — not just because of the timing, but also because of the very different tone they put on display. This itself is a reflection of the different personalities of the two men as commanders in chief, as well as the dramatic changes that have taken place in the Middle East in the past nine years.
View the complete December 27 article by Adam Taylor on The Washington Post website here.