Donald Trump Announces Final U.S. Troops Are Leaving Iraq, Says U.S. Has Been Stuck in Quagmire for Years Due to Bad Decisions
President Donald Trump: Final U.S. Troops Leaving Iraq
Donald Trump announced that the last batch of U.S. troops is leaving Iraq, stating that the U.S. has been stuck in a quagmire for years due to bad decisions, and this chapter of history is coming to an end.
He said at a White House event that this marks the conclusion of a "costly hellish journey," with social media reporting that the withdrawal is orderly, allowing troops to choose to go home or stay. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that troops and equipment have left the Erbil airbase in northern Kurdistan in an orderly manner, concluding the 12-year "Operation Inherent Resolve" against ISIS, transitioning to a bilateral security relationship led by Iraq with U.S. training and intelligence support. The remaining hundreds of troops had been concentrated in Erbil by the end of last year, having previously withdrawn from bases like Al Asad in Anbar.
The timeline comes from a phased agreement between the Biden administration and then-Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in 2024, executed by the Trump administration by the September 30 deadline. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi designated this day as "Sovereignty Day" and held a military parade. Baghdad initially linked the U.S. troop withdrawal to the disbanding of non-state armed groups, with several smaller groups surrendering their weapons, while major factions supported by Iran refused or set conditions unacceptable to the authorities, pushing the disbandment deadline to June 2027. Since the U.S.-Iraq war began on February 28, U.S. bases in Iraq have been repeatedly attacked by militias. Defense casualty statistics show that since the "Operation Iraqi Freedom" began on March 20, 2003, 3,481 U.S. troops have died in hostile actions, and 937 have died from non-hostile causes.
ISIS has been characterized by the Pentagon as having lost its organized military capability, with remaining responsibilities for militias now falling to the Iraqi government. Iran and its allies in Iraq have made the withdrawal a pressure tactic; the Kurds are concerned about gaps in air defense and intelligence. The U.S. stated that companies will continue to operate in Iraq.
The troop presence has shifted from coalition combat roles to advisory and commercial roles. The buyers are the White House, which wants to end the narrative of troop presence, and Baghdad, which seeks Sovereignty Day; the sellers are the Kurdish security structure that loses ground cover. The events are driven by the established deadline combined with the U.S.-Iran war. The beneficiaries are the president who can declare an end to the quagmire and the Iraqi government that can hold a military parade; the pressured parties are the disarmament agenda of the still-armed militias and the northern regions that must prevent a resurgence of ISIS without U.S. bases. The withdrawal concerns the ground mission in Iraq, not a war against Iran.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
In 2003, Saddam was overthrown; in 2011, Obama withdrew; in 2014, ISIS prompted the re-entry of Operation Inherent Resolve; in 2024, Biden signed a phased withdrawal agreement; and on September 30, 2026, Trump sent the last few hundred troops from Erbil during the U.S.-Iran war. He had called for an end to endless wars back in 2020, and this time he framed someone else's timeline as his own conclusion. The path is not about negotiating a new agreement but executing an old one with the imagery of "ending the quagmire."
Capital shifts from troop bills to oil companies and bilateral contracts. The Prime Minister once said, "U.S. troops out, U.S. companies in." Money is no longer used to sustain bases but is redirected to training, intelligence, and investment access. The motivation for Washington is to cut a line overseas before midterms, while for Baghdad, it is a sovereignty ceremony. Resources are transferred from the coalition command chain to Iraqi security forces, while pushing militia disarmament to 2027, effectively sending U.S. troops away first and then discussing arms. The Kurds lose base air defense, which is the direct cost of the withdrawal.
In contrast to the post-2011 withdrawal when ISIS filled the void, the 2021 Kabul withdrawal, and the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Iraq is transitioning from occupation and coalition missions to a sovereignty performance period: the organized ISIS on the battlefield has been dismantled, but armed factions remain politically. Expansion ends, leaving the question of who will fill the radar gap over Erbil.
The essence is a reconstruction of the industrial chain layered with regulatory changes. Security products shift from U.S. ground presence to Iraqi-led with remote support. The mechanism is that the deadline precedes the disarmament conditions, leaving militias without the excuse of "anti-U.S." but still armed; withdrawing ground forces while the war continues in neighboring countries shifts the risk from U.S. bases to the internal balance in Iraq. History is declared over, but the armed timeline remains open.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Once the deadline arrives, the quagmire can be declared over.
The troops are gone, but the guns can remain for the next timeline.
Ending the troop presence does not equal ending the war; it only changes the responsible party.