The Atlantic

The Dangerous Delusion of 'We Should've Kept the Oil'

The president has said he wants to support the troops, but his careless comments put U.S. lives at risk in Iraq.
Source: Andrew Harnik / AP

It’s not likely the American public realizes just how dangerous a remark President Trump made at the CIA on Saturday really was, or how it will make things very difficult for the U.S. military as it fights terror going forward. Speaking in front of the CIA’s Memorial Wall, Trump said the following:

The old expression, ‘to the victor belong the spoils’—you remember. I always used to say, keep the oil. I wasn’t a fan of Iraq. I didn’t want to go into Iraq. But I will tell you, when we were in, we got out wrong. And I always said, in addition to that, keep the oil. Now, I said it for economic

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