The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq has been completed after more than two decades, with American troops handing over control of the last U.S. military bases to Iraqi forces. The current
The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq has been completed after more than two decades, with American troops handing over control of the last U.S. military bases to Iraqi forces. The current withdrawal was carried out under an agreement reached in 2024 during the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden, while its implementation took place under the administration of current President Donald Trump.
Following the U.S. withdrawal, Iraq will have to take greater responsibility for its internal security. According to a Reuters report, Iraqi security experts have warned that the end of the U.S. military presence could increase the influence of Iran-aligned armed groups in the country and provide ISIS with an opportunity to regroup.
Iraqi security analyst Jassim al-Bahadli said the U.S. withdrawal would provide Iran with a strategic advantage because the presence of U.S. forces had for years been a major obstacle to Tehran’s influence in Iraq. He said Iran-aligned militia groups would portray the U.S. withdrawal as a victory for their movement and would seek to use it to expand their influence over security and political decisions.
Meanwhile, Abu Mujtaba al-Yasiri, a commander of the Iran-aligned armed group alliance known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, described the U.S. withdrawal as a historic victory for Iraqi Islamic resistance groups and the Iraqi people. He said September 30 would be celebrated as the end of a dark chapter in Iraq’s history. According to him, Iraq has demonstrated that its sovereignty can be protected not by foreign forces but through resistance and the will of its people.
Although the final withdrawal of U.S. forces is generally considered popular among the Iraqi public, groups concerned about the power of Iran-aligned factions argue that the withdrawal is premature. Abdulrahman al-Zubaie, a tribal leader from the Iraqi city of Fallujah, said Iraq is not yet ready to assume full responsibility for its security.
“All Iraqis want complete sovereignty, and no Iraqi would disagree with that,” he said. “But the withdrawal of the U.S.-led coalition in this manner and the resulting security vacuum are precisely what all Iraqis fear.”
The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 and overthrew the government of then-President Saddam Hussein. The U.S. military remained in Iraq for several years and conducted operations against armed resistance groups. American forces withdrew from Iraq at the end of 2011. However, U.S. forces returned to Iraq in 2014 following the rise of ISIS. American military operations against the group continued from 2014 to 2017.
In 2020, the United States killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport. Following the strike, Iran-aligned armed groups carried out several attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, prompting American retaliatory operations. During more than two decades of war in Iraq, approximately 4,500 U.S. service members were killed. American troops stationed in Iraq also suffered casualties during the recent Iran-U.S. war. Of the 18 U.S. service members killed, seven died in Iraq, including the most recent fatality in July, when an American sergeant was killed while attempting to disable a drone near a military base close to Erbil.
