International

IIE DIGITAL: The United States will withdraw all its troops from Iraq by September 30, bringing an end to 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.

The announcement was made during a joint press briefing at the White House on Tuesday, where US President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi confirmed that American forces would leave Iraq under the 2024 agreement between Washington and Baghdad.

Speaking alongside the Iraqi Prime Minister, Trump said the US no longer believes a military presence in Iraq is necessary.

“We don’t think we need the military there anymore. The relationship is a whole big relationship where we don’t need the military. 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,” Trump said.

Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi reiterated the withdrawal timeline, while noting that American businesses would continue operating in Iraq.

“US forces will be out of Iraq by September 30, while US companies will be inside Iraq,” he said.

The Pentagon later said the troop withdrawal reaffirms the 2024 agreement reached with Baghdad to conclude the US led military mission against the Islamic State.

A large number of US personnel had already left Iraq following the agreement, significantly reducing the American military footprint in the country.

The US invaded Iraq in March 2003, citing intelligence that then President Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. Those claims were never substantiated.

American troop levels peaked at more than 170,000 personnel during the height of the conflict in 2007.

Most US combat forces withdrew in 2011 under an agreement reached during the Obama administration, leaving behind a limited contingent focused on security cooperation and protecting US diplomatic facilities.

However, American forces returned to Iraq in 2014 at the request of the Iraqi government after the Islamic State seized large parts of Iraq and neighboring country Syria. Their mission shifted to training Iraqi security forces and supporting counter-terrorism operations.

Although the Islamic State lost its territorial control by 2021, around 2,500 US troops remained in Iraq to provide training and advisory support until the 2024 withdrawal agreement.

The final withdrawal scheduled for September 30 will formally end the US military mission in Iraq by concluding more than two decades of American military involvement in the country.