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 The remaining hundreds of troops had been concentrated in Erbil by the end of last year, having previously withdrawn from bases like Al Asad in Anbar.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