US To Withdraw Thousands of American Troops in Iraq

Iraq's Prime Minister will go to Washington this weekend to demand that President Biden remove all US combat troops from Iraq, telling Iraqi media that the visit would "bring an end to the presence of combat forces."

(Photo : John Moore/Getty Images)
Iraqi Army soldiers stand guard on a road between the U.S. Embassy and the International Zone on May 30, 2021 in Baghdad, Iraq.

Withdrawal of U.S. Military Troops in Iraq

In a recently published article in The New York Times, according to American officials, the U.S. is expected to comply with Prime Minister Mustafa al-request, Kadhimi's establishing a timetable for the departure of the U.S. combat troops by the end of the year, which will be announced on Monday.

According to Pentagon and senior administration officials, this will be accomplished by withdrawing a small but undisclosed number of the 2,500 American troops now stationed in Iraq, as well as reclassifying the duties of other soldiers on paper. Mr. al-Kadhimi will be able to take home a political prize to appease Iraq's anti-American forces, and the U.S. military presence will stay.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is struggling with how to function in a nation that has fallen more under the control of Iranian-backed militias and a corrupt political system that has pushed Iraq's government institutions to the verge of collapse since the U.S. invasion 18 years ago.

The Shift of U.S. Military Roles in Iraq

A U.S. official and two individuals familiar with the situation said that the U.S. and Iraqi officials are close to completing a change in the US military mission in Iraq to a strictly advising one by the end of the year, marking the formal end of the US combat operation in the nation, according to a published report in POLITICO.

In a recently published article in MSN News, A senior U.S. official familiar with ongoing discussions said "There will be no U.S. military forces in a combat role by the end of the year. We anticipate some force adjustments in line with that commitment."

A handful of the U.S. military personnel would stay in Iraq indefinitely under the proposal, which the individuals emphasized will not represent a retreat of American forces from the nation. In the battle against the Islamic State, these soldiers will offer logistical and advising assistance, as well as air power, information, and surveillance capabilities. The Islamic State claimed credit for a suicide assault in Baghdad that killed dozens of people.

American Drone Strike in 2020

Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Iran's top security and intelligence leader, was killed in an American drone attack in 2020, along with a senior Iraqi security official and eight others, making the U.S. present presence politically untenable and unwanted.

Following the US drone attack, Iraq's Parliament urged that the government remove the U.S. troops a nonbinding vote that conveyed a powerful message to any politician seeking to remain in office, including the prime minister, according to a published report in France24.

Moreover, the U.S. has frequently accused Iranian-backed militias in Iraq of ongoing assaults on the U.S. sites. The U.S. and many Iraqi authorities think the militias are also behind the majority of activist murders and a slew of illicit money-laundering operations.