Defense Secretary Jim Mattis Monday rolled back comments President Trump has made about seizing oil from Iraq, asserting during a trip to the country that it is not going to happen.
“We’re not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil,” he told reporters traveling with him in Iraq.
Trump as recently as January suggested that the United States should have taken oil from the Iraqis after the 2003 U.S. invasion of the country, suggesting the opportunity might arise again.
“We should have kept the oil. But okay. Maybe you’ll have another chance,” Trump said during a visit to the CIA.
Mattis is in Iraq to assess the campaign against the Islamic State and determine what is needed to finish off the Islamists.
