Kushner, Dunford meet with Iraqi prime minister in Baghdad

BAGHDAD — President Donald Trump’s son-inlaw and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford met Monday in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

The visit marks an early foray for the Trump administration into the situation in Iraq. It comes against the backdrop of an ongoing investigation into civilian deaths in an area of Mosul near the site of an airstrike by U.S.-led coalition forces last month.

Dunford invited Kushner and Thomas P. Bossert, a presidential assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism, on the trip to meet with Iraqi leaders and U.S. forces and to receive an update on the fight against the Islamic State group. Capt. Greg Hicks, a spokesman for Dunford, said Kushner was “traveling on behalf of the president to express the president’s support and commitment to the government of Iraq and U.S. personnel currently engaged in the campaign.”

The meeting with alAbadi came after some confusion regarding Kushner’s whereabouts. Kushner’s travel plans initially were revealed late Sunday by a Trump administration official who said Kushner wanted to see the situation in Iraq for himself and show support for Baghdad’s government.

The official said Kushner had already arrived. But when presented with information indicating that was not accurate, the official said the timing of his arrival was unclear but confirmed that Kushner was scheduled to be in Iraq on Monday. Such visits from high-ranking officials are typically kept secret out of security concerns.