Trump hails the US military’s exit from Iraq after its 12-year mission

The U.S. military announced Wednesday that it completed the withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq, ending a 12-year mission to fight the Islamic State group and prompting President Donald Trump to hail the conclusion of “a very expensive excursion into Hell.”

The last U.S. troops left an air base in northern Iraq under a deal between Baghdad and Washington.

Trump, in a social media post, described the withdrawal by a Sept. 30 deadline as “orderly.” Appearing soon after at a White House event celebrating Hispanics, he spoke at length about the withdrawal and said, “It’s been a long time with very bad decision making that got us involved in this quagmire in the first place. It was a quagmire. For many, many years it lasted. But soon that part of history will be over.”

He said the shift was a victory for the U.S., Iraq and a sign of victory over the Islamic State group.