US military to end 23-year presence in Iraq

The United States will withdraw its military forces from Iraq by September 30, ending a 23-year military presence that began with the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein and later evolved into operations against the Islamic State (IS) group.

President Donald Trump, speaking alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at the White House on Tuesday, said the US no longer believed a military presence in Iraq was necessary, Associated Press reported.

“We don’t think we need the military there anymore,” Trump said, pointing to Iraq’s expanding ties with US 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 later reaffirmed a 2024 agreement reached with Iraq during the Biden administration to conclude the US-led mission against IS. It noted that many of the troops stationed in Iraq when the agreement was signed have already left.

The US has gradually transferred responsibility for combating IS to Iraqi security forces, which have been trained by American troops. As part of that transition, US forces have reduced their presence by withdrawing from several locations and consolidating remaining personnel.

Following the defeat of IS’s self-declared territorial caliphate, coalition combat operations ended in 2021. The US retained about 2,500 troops in Iraq to train local forces and conduct joint counter-IS missions. Since the 2024 agreement, that number has fallen significantly, leaving only a small contingent of military advisers and support personnel.

The US invaded Iraq in March 2003 in what it described as a “shock and awe” bombing campaign that devastated large parts of the country and led to the capture of Baghdad. The invasion was justified by claims that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, allegations that were later proven false.

At the height of the conflict in 2007, more than 170,000 US troops were deployed in Iraq. Under the Obama administration, most forces were withdrawn, with the final combat troops leaving in December 2011. A limited number of military personnel remained to provide security assistance and protect the US embassy.

However, the rise of the Islamic State group in 2014 and its rapid territorial gains across Iraq and Syria prompted the return of US and coalition forces at the invitation of the Iraqi government. Their mission focused on rebuilding and retraining Iraqi police and military units that had collapsed in the face of the IS offensive.