Pence praises Kurds during surprise Iraq visit

The Trump administration might be trying to make amends with the Kurds, Politico reports.

Vice President Mike Pence made an unannounced trip to Iraq on Saturday. After serving Thanksgiving lunch to U.S. troops stationed at Al Asad Air Base in the Al Anbar province, Pence traveled to Erbil to meet with Iraqi Kurdistan President Nechivran Barzani.

While there, Pence said an "enduring bond exists between the Kurdish people and the people of the United States," despite the Trump administration's decision to re-position troops in northeastern Syria, leaving Kurdish forces vulnerable to Turkish military attacks. When asked if there was a sense among the Kurds that the U.S. had betrayed them, Pence said he doesn't believe so — at least at this point in time. "I don't think there was any confusion now among the leadership here in the Kurdish region of President Trump's commitment to our allies here in Iraq as well as those in the Syrian Defense Force, the Kurdish forces who fought alongside us," he said. "It's unchanging."

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Barzani reportedly thanked Pence for his visit and said he hopes the Kurds' relationship with Washington and the Trump administration "will continue to develop further." Read more at Politico and USA Today.