U.S. troops departed Iraq in 2011, but Iraqi authorities invited a smaller U.S.-led mission back three years later to fight ISIS.
The U.S. military completed its withdrawal of all American troops from Iraq in Operation Inherent Resolve on Wednesday, ending a 12-year mission against the Islamic State group.
President Donald Trump hailed the withdrawal during a White House Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, calling it “a great day for America” after years of “very bad decision making” that turned Iraq into a “quagmire.”
“We’re getting the hell out of there!” Trump said. He called the withdrawal “a victory for the United States,” “a victory for Iraq” and “a decisive victory over ISIS.”
Washington and Baghdad agreed in 2024 to wind down U.S.-led operations against ISIS. Bases in Iraq’s Kurdish region have regularly come under attack since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran-backed Iraqi militias have also coordinated with Yemen’s Houthi rebels to attack Saudi Arabia.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that coalition troops and equipment completed an “orderly departure” from Erbil Air Base.
“This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region,” he said. “It also marks a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship.”
U.S. Central Command said the withdrawal is part of a planned shift to a bilateral U.S.-Iraq defense relationship. The coalition task force that led the anti-ISIS mission remains operational from its new headquarters in Jordan, where U.S. forces will continue counter-ISIS operations in Syria alongside coalition partners and the Syrian government.
“U.S. and Coalition forces stationed across the region will remain ready to respond to any ISIS threats that arise,” CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi called the withdrawal the start of a “new phase” for the country, one rooted in Iraq’s sovereignty, stronger institutions and security forces, unified decision-making and balanced partnerships.
He said Iraqi forces will continue fighting ISIS and pledged that non-state armed groups will no longer be allowed to possess weapons.
The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq began in March 2003 after the Bush administration said Saddam Hussein possessed or was pursuing weapons of mass destruction, defied U.N. disarmament demands and posed a threat to U.S. security. The administration also argued Iraq could support terrorists.
An Iraq Survey Group later found no evidence that Iraq had reconstituted a nuclear-weapons capability, retained biological-agent stockpiles or mobile production facilities, or maintained substantial chemical-weapons stockpiles.
U.S. troops departed Iraq in 2011, but Iraqi authorities invited a smaller U.S.-led mission back three years later to fight ISIS after the extremist group seized large swaths of the country.
Officials in Iraq’s Kurdish region have voiced concern over the withdrawal, particularly the removal of U.S. air defense systems. The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Peshmerga Ministry said the region faced more than 1,000 drone and ballistic missile attacks during the recent U.S.-Iran conflict.
The ministry said the withdrawal will not include a replacement air defense system, calling that “deeply concerning” as instability continues to threaten Iraq and the wider region.
Iran-aligned militias in Iraq celebrated the withdrawal, portraying it as a victory over “occupation forces.”
“The expulsion of the occupation forces, defeated, from the land of Iraq is the beginning of full sovereignty,” Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official with the powerful Kataib Hezbollah militia, said in a statement.
He also warned al-Zaidi’s government against carrying out U.S. plans, threatening that any government that does not serve “the benefit of the people” would be overthrown “by all means.”
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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.
