Foreign News
Two decades after invasion, US military prepares final exit from Iraq
The US military will leave Iraq by the end of September, American and Iraqi officials have said, following a 23-year presence that started with the 2003 invasion against then-leader Saddam Hussein.
US President Donald Trump, standing alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at the White House, said “we don’t think we need the military there anymore” and noted Iraq’s growing relationships with oil companies.
“The relationship is a whole big relationship where we don’t need the military,” Trump 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.”
Speaking through an interpreter, al-Zaidi said, “US forces will be out of Iraq” by September 30, “while US companies will be inside Iraq.”
The Pentagon said in a subsequent statement that it was reaffirming a 2024 agreement with Iraq to end its mission against Daesh terror group.
Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth also emphasised that a normal bilateral defence relationship depends on a stable security environment “free from terrorist coercion.”
Many of the US troops still deployed in Iraq at the time of the deal, which was made during the Biden administration, have already departed.
The US has been shifting the burden for combating Daesh in Iraq from American and coalition forces to Iraqi troops who have been trained by the US military.
American troops have been diminishing their footprint, withdrawing from areas and consolidating forces.
‘Shock and awe’
The US invaded Iraq in March 2003 in what it called a massive “shock and awe” bombing campaign.
