The United States completed its military withdrawal from Iraq on 30 September, more than two decades after the 2003 invasion, after US forces vacated their last remaining base at Irbil air base in the country’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said.
“This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organised military threat in Iraq and across the region,” Parnell said, describing the move as a transition “from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship.” Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi presided over the handover ceremony, calling it the start of “a new phase, one defined by Iraq’s sovereignty, the strength of its institutions, the readiness of its forces, the unity of its decision-making, and balanced partnerships with its friends.”
Divided regional reactions
The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Peshmerga Ministry said it was concerned by the US departure “under these complex regional circumstances, without the provision of a defense system,” according to reporting on the handover. Iraq’s Kurdish region had endured repeated drone and missile strikes during recent regional hostilities, reports say. Meanwhile, a security official with the Iran-aligned group Kataib Hezbollah described the withdrawal as marking “the beginning of full sovereignty,” according to the reports.
US forces first entered Iraq in 2003 and, after formally ending combat operations in 2011, returned in 2014 to help lead an international coalition against the Islamic State group. The latest drawdown had been planned and phased over recent years as Iraqi forces assumed a larger share of security responsibilities, according to Pentagon statements.
Why It Matters
The end of the US military presence in Iraq closes a chapter that began with the 2003 invasion and reshapes the security balance in a country that sits between US, Iranian and Kurdish interests. How Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government manage security cooperation without a permanent American military footprint will be closely watched as a signal of Iraq’s institutional stability going forward.
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