Date: Feb 5, 2019 Source: The Daily Star Iraqi president hits back at Trump over U.S. Army presence BAGHDAD: Iraq’s president hit back at U.S. President Donald Trump Monday for saying U.S. troops should stay in Iraq to keep an eye on neighboring Iran, saying the U.S. leader did not ask for Iraq’s permission to do so. “We find these comments strange,” Barham Salih said, speaking at a forum in Baghdad. Trump’s comments added to concerns in Iraq about America’s long-term intentions, particularly after it withdraws its troops from Syria. Trump has angered Iraqi politicians and Iranian-backed factions by arguing he would keep U.S. troops in Iraq and use it as a base to strike Daesh (ISIS) targets inside Syria as needed. In an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” he said U.S. troops in Iraq were also needed to monitor Iran. “He didn’t ask Iraq about this,” Salih said Monday. He said U.S. troops were in Iraq as part of a deal between the two countries with a specific mission of assisting in the fight against Daesh and combatting “terrorism.” He said the Iraqi constitution forbids the use of Iraq as a base to threaten the interests or security of neighboring countries. “Don’t overburden Iraq with your own issues,” Salih added. “The U.S. is a major power ... but do not pursue your own policy priorities, we live here.” In the interview, Trump said the U.S. has an “incredible base” in Iraq that he intends to keep, “because I want to be able to watch Iran.” He said the U.S. base in Iraq is “perfectly situated for looking at all over different parts of the troubled Middle East.” Former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also weighed in Monday, saying: “Iraq should not be used as a spring board to attack its neighbors. We are not proxies in conflicts outside the interests of our nation,” he wrote in a Twitter post.