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29-09-2024
BAGHDAD: A US-led coalition’s military mission in Iraq will end by September 2025 and there will be a transition to bilateral security partnerships, the United States and Iraq said in a joint statement on Friday.
The US has approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria as part of the coalition formed in 2014 to combat Islamic State as it rampaged through the two countries.
The joint statement provided few details, including how many US troops would leave Iraq and from which bases.
In a briefing with reporters on Friday, a senior US official said that the move was not a withdrawal and declined to say if any troops would even be leaving Iraq.
“I just want to foot stomp the fact that this is not a withdrawal. This is a transition. It’s a transition from a coalition military mission to an expanded US-Iraqi bilateral security relationship,” the official said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani initiated talks with Washington in January on the change. He has said that, while he appreciates their help, US troops have become a magnet for instability, frequently targeted and responding with strikes often not coordinated with the Iraqi government.
Media has reported that the agreement would see hundreds of troops leave by September 2025, with the remainder departing by the end of 2026.
Under the plan, all coalition forces would leave the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Anbar province and significantly reduce their presence in Baghdad by September 2025.
US and other coalition troops are expected to remain in Erbil. Other nations, including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy, contribute hundreds of troops to the coalition.
Officials told reporters that the US mission in Syria would continue.
The drawdown will mark a notable shift in Washington’s military posture in the Middle East while primarily focused on countering Islamic State, US officials acknowledge the US presence also serves as a strategic position against Iranian influence.
This position has grown more important as Israel and Iran escalate their regional confrontation, with US forces in Iraq shooting down rockets and drones fired towards Israel in recent months, according to US officials.
The agreement will likely present a political win for Sudani as he balances Iraq’s position as an ally of both Washington and Tehran.
The United States and Iraq have reached an understanding on plans for the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from Iraq, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The plan, which has been broadly agreed but requires a final go-ahead from both capitals and an announcement date, would see hundreds of troops leave by September 2025, with the remainder departing by the end of 2026, the sources said.
“We have an agreement, its now just a question of when to announce it,” a senior US official said.
The US and Iraq are also seeking to establish a new advisory relationship that could see some US troops remain in Iraq after the drawdown.
An official announcement was initially scheduled for weeks ago but was postponed due to regional escalation related to Israel’s war in Gaza and to iron out some remaining details, the sources said.
The sources include five US officials, two officials from other coalition nations, and three Iraqi officials, all speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
