Trump hails end of US military presence in Iraq after 23 years

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – US President Donald Trump celebrated the departure of the final American soldiers from Iraq on Wednesday, describing it as a win for both nations and the end of a military chapter that started with the US-led invasion in 2003. In a long social media statement announcing the pullout, Trump said that it was time for American soldiers to come home and criticized the initial decision to invade Iraq, portraying US participation in the nation as the product of bad decision-making and a costly struggle. The White House also released Trump’s statements. Trump praised the pullout as a success for both the United States and Iraq, as well as the end of the war against ISIS. He also lauded Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zaidi, expressing faith in the Iraqi government’s capacity to assume responsibility for the country’s security. The statements came after the United States Central Command concluded the evacuation of American soldiers and equipment from Erbil Air Base, thus ending Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. The milestone comes 23 years after the US and its allies invaded Iraq in March 2003 and deposed Saddam Hussein, ushering in a volatile era marked by occupation, insurgency, sectarian violence, the development of ISIS, and the return of American soldiers in 2014. The human cost to Iraq was immense. Estimates vary based on methodology, but more than 200,000 Iraqi civilians have been murdered by direct violence since the 2003 invasion, with estimates of the overall death toll, including combatants and indirect fatalities connected with conflict, far higher. The fighting displaced millions of Iraqis and severely damaged infrastructure and public services, with long-term implications. US soldiers mostly departed from Iraq in 2011 but returned three years later at the request of the Iraqi government after ISIS took Mosul and vast portions of northern and western Iraq. Throughout the battle against ISIS, the US-led coalition supplied air support, intelligence, training, and other aid to Iraqi troops and the Peshmerga. Iraq claimed military victory over the organization in 2017, but ISIS cells continue to operate in areas of the nation. Tom Barrack, US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Iraq and Syria, also announced the pullout, portraying it as the end of a 23-year transition rather than Washington leaving Iraq. In a post on X, Barrack said that the departure requires cooperation with Baghdad, Erbil, regional administrations, and Washington. He said that it provided a chance for Iraq to consolidate its military forces under a single national authority, with the US becoming, in his words, “a friend rather than a garrison.” That problem is likely to remain one of the most significant issues in Iraq’s post-coalition future. Al-Zaidi’s administration has been working to restore state authority over weaponry owned by armed factions, including major Iran-aligned militias, while Baghdad takes main responsibility for national security. The American withdrawal does not signal the end of security cooperation between Baghdad and Washington. The two nations are developing a bilateral defense partnership, while the US-led counter-ISIS campaign will continue elsewhere in the area. For Iraq, however, September 30 marks the end of one of the longest and most significant eras in its modern history. A whole generation of Iraqis has grown up with some form of US military involvement in the country, first after Saddam’s removal and then throughout the battle against ISIS. The departure marks the beginning of a new chapter in which Iraq takes main responsibility for its own security, state authority, and destiny after more than two decades of conflict and foreign military occupation.