Trump admits failure of US policies in Syria, Iraq

U.S. president on Saturday criticized his country's foreign policies in Iraq and Syria, saying that his administration will focus on fixing up America's infrastructure rather than fighting "endless wars".

During his two-hour speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Donald Trump said that Daesh will be defeated "hundred percent" in a day or two and reiterated his administration's firmness to pull American troops.

"We will leave a small group of guys and gals [soldiers] but we want to bring our people back home. It is time," Trump said in the annual event in National Harbor, Maryland.

"We would be in Syria for 4 months but we ended up 5 years. Just funny."

He slammed the Middle East policies of former U.S. governments, recalling his first-time visit to Iraq in 2017 when they had to turn off all the lights at the military plane before landing for security purposes.

"Think of this. We spent seven trillion dollars in the Middle East and we can't land a plane with lights on, 20 years later. How bad is that!" Trump said.

He also criticized his former defense secretary James Mattis and other generals in Syria and Iraq for being too slow in finishing Daesh and said that he learns more about what is going on from the soldiers than generals.

The president added that he is not going to be a president who will sit behind his desk, hinting direct involvement in all military policies and commitment to major withdrawal from the Middle East.