Officials: New Trump travel ban removes Iraq from list

[Synecdoche Trope]

Source: Associated Press

Mar. 1, 2017 4:00 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's new immigration order will remove Iraq from the list of countries whose citizens face a temporary U.S. travel ban, U.S. officials say, citing the latest draft in circulation. Trump is expected to sign the executive order in the coming days.

Four officials told The Associated Press that the decision followed pressure from the Pentagon and State Department, which had urged the White House to reconsider Iraq's inclusion on the list given its key role in fighting the Islamic State group.

Citizens of six other predominantly Muslim countries — Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — will remain on the travel ban list, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the order before it is signed. Those bans are effective for 90 days.

The new order includes other changes as well. The officials said the 12-page document no longer singles out Syrian refugees for an indefinite ban and instead includes them as part of a general, 120-day suspension of new refugee admissions.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/20101cf0709745e3813815359086dcb1/officials-new-trump-travel-man-removes-iraq-list

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Something tells me the real reason for taking Iraq off this list is that Donnie just found out he does have a business there, after all.

[nitpicker]

1. Not to mention all the contractors

With Iraq stamps in their passports.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. "Donnie just found out he does have a business there"

Simpler than that.

Oil.

He keeps repeating that "we should have taken the oil".

[pecosbob]

3. Just to play devil's advocate

Why was Saudia Arabia not on the list...you know, the country that sent us the 9-11 terrorists?

[leftynyc]

4. And Pakistan

They should - given the reasons he's given - be on the list also.

[IronLionZion]

10. Agent Orange has hotels and golf courses there

he needs to look out for number one.

It's not about stopping terrorism.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Well look at how fast Iraq was able to get rid of all of those

terrorists immigrating to the US.

[Roland99]

6. So, pretty much the birthplace of ISIS. mmmkay

[Bradical79]

7. Maybe a lobbyist got to him?

http://www.investors.com/news/trump-travel-ban-throws-doubt-on-ges-iraq-operations-report/

Last month, GE said it had secured more than $1.4 billion in orders from Iraq to develop power plants. GE, in announcing that deal, said it has "over 40 years of presence in Iraq, and supports the country's infrastructure needs in power generation, oil & gas, water processing, aviation and healthcare, through diversified multi-business solutions and local presence."

U.S. diplomats said that Iraq had wanted to sign two more deals with GE that "could be negatively affected," a State Department memo obtained by Politico said, citing a top Iraqi official.

[Tom Rinaldo]

8. If Iraq fully turns against the U.S and openly embraces being an Iranian client state...

...that will be squarely on Trump's watch. It could easily happen, and a travel ban on Iraq citizens coming to the U.S. could provide the tipping point for that coming to pass. I think some cooler heads may have gotten to Trump. He can score his xenophobia points without including Iraq, and no one will ever blame him for potentially "losing Somalia" like he could be for "losing Iraq".

[karynnj]

12. Great observation -- and the fact that so many Iraqis have worked and are working with the US

comes into play. I think they were embarrassed when US military vets spoke out for Iraqi national translators who were being denied entry to the US because of the original version of the ban.

I think the fact that they eliminated the permanent Syrian ban shows that this is a PR move. I suspect that this is designed to allow them in three months to announce that -- unlike Obama before him -- he nows has extreme vetting in place and he is thus protecting America. In fact, I doubt he will find much to really change. Still, it will be a Trumpian victory that his masses will claim is part of making America Great. In fact, all it did was create a hateful, anti- Moslem, zenophobic wave that has terrorized many people in this country.

[Dopers_Greed]

9. Is he opening a Trump hotel there?

With the US military provided security for it (at taxpayer expense)

[IronLionZion]

11. Lot of Americans work there

as Defense contractors or oil industry jobs. And vice versa, their people come to America for business meetings.

The ban was never about stopping terrorism.