Photo: Alamy
The United States will withdraw its remaining military forces from Iraq by the end of September, American and Iraqi officials announced Tuesday, bringing to a close a military presence that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
President Donald Trump announced the timeline during a White House meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, saying the United States no longer believes a military presence in Iraq is necessary.
“We don’t think we need the military there anymore,” President Trump said, pointing to Iraq’s expanding economic ties with American energy companies.
“The relationship is a whole big relationship where we don’t need the military,” he said. “We’re there to help them. We’re there to protect them if need be. But we don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” he added.
Speaking through an interpreter, al-Zaidi confirmed the withdrawal schedule.
The Pentagon later said the withdrawal is consistent with a 2024 agreement reached between Washington and Baghdad during the Biden administration to conclude the U.S.-led mission against the Islamic State group.
Under that agreement, the United States has steadily reduced its military presence while shifting responsibility for counterterrorism operations to Iraqi security forces trained by American troops.
At the height of the Iraq War in 2007, more than 170,000 U.S. troops were deployed in the country during counterinsurgency operations.
The United States initially invaded Iraq in March 2003, citing intelligence assessments that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. The Obama administration oversaw the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces in 2011, leaving behind a limited military presence to support security cooperation and protect the U.S. Embassy.
American forces returned in 2014 at the request of the Iraqi government after the Islamic State group captured large areas of Iraq and neighboring Syria. Following the territorial defeat of the Islamic State, coalition combat operations formally concluded in 2021.
In recent years, approximately 2,500 U.S. troops remained in Iraq to train Iraqi forces and conduct joint counterterrorism missions. Most have already departed under the 2024 agreement, leaving only a small number of military advisers and support personnel.
