Iraqis Welcome Trump’s Stance on ISIS, but Fear It May Backfire

The story says that Iraqi's are less offended by Trump's linking of Muslims to terrorism that the liberal press.

There is a feeling of excitement that Trump will take care of the terrorist and restore order, ans some see Trump as a truth teller.

I hope we can help those people that Obama has forgotten.

ERBIL, Iraq — Many Muslims in the Middle East have reacted with a mix of caution, suspicion and scorn to Donald J. Trump’s election victory and his appointments of aides with hostile views toward Islam.

Struggling to understand what Mr. Trump’s ascent means for their war-ravaged region, some have expressed hope that he will confront militant Islamist extremists far more aggressively than the Obama administration has done.

But others fear Mr. Trump’s views will be exploited as a recruiting tool by the Islamic State and other violent militants.

In Iraq, whose modern history has been profoundly shaped by the decisions of American presidents, officials and citizens alike are weighing Mr. Trump’s harsh words against his promise to defeat terrorism.

Surprisingly, some Iraqis seem less offended by Mr. Trump’s comments linking terrorism to Islam than American liberals.

Iraqis have endured years of Islam being used to justify mass killing, and some see Mr. Trump as a truth-teller in calling out Islam — or a certain brand of it — as the problem.

Iraqi Shiites, in particular, say they believe Mr. Trump will take a harder line on Saudi Arabia, the regional Sunni power that many see as the incubator of the extreme form of Islam, known as Wahhabism, that forms a basis of the Islamic State’s ideology.

“The victory of Trump is the beginning of the end of extremist Islam and Wahhabism,” said Mouwafak al-Rubaie, an Iraqi lawmaker and the country’s former national security adviser.

In Mr. Trump’s vow to defeat terrorism many Iraqis say they have hope that decisive American power will be marshaled to eradicate the Islamic State, the extremist group also known as ISIS, which has occupied parts of Iraq and Syria for the past two years.

“We have no concerns about the policy of Trump because he is against extremism,” said Saad al-Hadithi, the spokesman for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. “We think we are facing one enemy, and that is fighting ISIS. Therefore, I do not think there are fears or concerns about a new American policy.”

On Friday, Mr. Abadi spoke by phone with Mr. Trump for the first time, and a statement released by the prime minister’s office said the two leaders affirmed the cooperation between their two countries in the fight against the Islamic State. According to the statement, Mr. Trump told Mr. Abadi, “you are essential partners to us and you will find strong and deep support.”

But Mr. Trump’s invective against Muslims during the campaign, and his apparent intent to put those feelings into policy with his appointments, represented a deep betrayal to the many Iraqis who worked as translators alongside the American military in Iraq, and have dreamed of immigrating to the United States under a special visa program that will now be in jeopardy under a Trump presidency.

www.nytimes.com...

The opportunity to turn foreign policy around and make some friends in this world is before us right now....
America stands very much alone , with its future fate hanging in the balance....
Co operation is the order of the day, not confrontation.....
I hope the new admin gets the message but fear the worst....

a reply to: seasonal

Well, lets put more troops back in Iraq. What could possibly go wrong.