The US troop presence in Iraq, which began with the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, is ending after 23 years, and security responsibility is set to pass to Iraq.
This marks the end, after 23 years, of the US military presence in Iraq that began with the 2003 invasion of Saddam Hussein's regime. Some troops are already in the process of withdrawing.
The operation is set to be much smaller than before.
US bases in this region have been attacked regularly since February 28, when the US and Israel began their war against Iran.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met with Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command. After the talks, al-Sudani said in a statement that September 30 is confirmed as the definitive and final date for the end of the military mission of the international coalition to defeat ISIS in Iraq and the completion of troop withdrawal.
A US official confirmed that US forces are expected to complete their withdrawal by September 30. However, the official declined to say how many troops will remain in Iraq or where they will be redeployed, citing that this information is classified military secret.
The official said the US, Iraq, and coalition partners have achieved considerable success in defeating ISIS. The official added that Iraqi security forces, including the Peshmerga and the security forces of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, will now lead the war against terrorists within Iraq.
When ISIS resurged in 2014 and seized large areas of Iraq and Syria, US troops were redeployed to Iraq at the request of the Iraqi government. As ISIS lost control of territory it once held, the coalition's military operations ended in 2021. The US has since kept about 2,500 troops in Iraq for training and for conducting the fight against ISIS alongside Iraqi forces.
He said that once foreign troops withdraw, these groups will have no justification for carrying weapons.
Some of Iraq's most powerful Iran-backed militias have said they have no intention of giving up their weapons. This has raised concerns that Iraq could fall into civil war after US forces leave.
In the United States, many people want the troops deployed overseas to come home. Many Americans question whether it is truly good for the US to spend money and endure hardships abroad while being criticized as an occupying force. This skepticism is especially prevalent among conservatives.
Because of the chaotic scenes during the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan, some argue that the Iraq withdrawal must not repeat that situation. The approaches of Biden and Trump to withdrawal are expected to differ. When Biden withdrew from Afghanistan, most weapons were left behind, but the Iraq withdrawal is reportedly moving toward bringing back as much US military equipment as possible. The two will show clearly different approaches in this respect.
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