| Withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theUS-led intervention in Iraq (2014–2021) | |||||||
 CJTF-OIR transfer ofQayyarah Airfield West toIraqi security forces, March 2020 | |||||||
| |||||||
After the defeat of theIslamic State in Iraq in2017,Iraq and the United States began discussing the partial withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq in December 2019. In January 2020, duringmassive protests in Iraq,[4] and following the assassination of Iranian commanderQasem Soleimani with a U.S.reaper drone ordered by President Trump, the IraqiCouncil of Representatives passed a non-binding measure to "expel all foreign troops from their country," including American and Iranian troops. The AmericanTrump administration ignored the motion, but later began a partial drawdown of forces in March.[5] U.S. combat troops have since accelerated their withdrawal from Iraq.[6]
In July 2021, PresidentJoe Biden announced that he would end the U.S. combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021, with remaining U.S. troops serving in an advisory and assistance role.[7] The U.S. combat mission formally concluded on 9 December 2021, with 2,500 U.S. troops remaining in the country.[1] As of March 15, 2023, the number of American forces in Iraq was still approximately 2,500 soldiers, deployed mainly in Baghdad and the north of the country.[8]
The United States completed its priorwithdrawal of troops in December 2011, concluding theIraq War.[9] In June 2014, the United States formedCombined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) andre-intervened at the request of the Iraqi government due to the rise of theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[10] Iran alsointervened in Iraq in June 2014. On 9 December 2017, Iraq declared victory against ISIL, concluding the 2013–2017War in Iraq and commencing the latestISIL insurgency in Iraq.[11]
In May 2019, four merchant ships wereattacked bylimpet mines in theGulf of Oman.[6] Tensions rose between the United States and theIslamic Republic of Iran, after the United States blamed Iran'sIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for the incident.[6] In June 2019, anearly-identical incident occurred involving two merchant ships.[6] In December 2019, the United States began discussing with Iraq about plans to withdraw from certain bases.[12] That same month, theK-1 Air Base wasattacked, resulting in one American fatality and six injuries.[6] The United States claimed thatKata'ib Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group, was responsible for the attack.[6] The United States responded by conductingairstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Kata'ib Hezbollah locations.[6]
On 31 December 2019 through 1 January 2020, theUnited States Embassy in Baghdad wasattacked in response to the airstrikes.[6] On 3 January 2020, the United States conductedan airstrike that killed Iranian Major GeneralQasem Soleimani and Kata'ib Hezbollah commanderAbu Mahdi al-Muhandis.[6] Iraq protested that the airstrike violated their sovereignty.[13]
In March 2020, the U.S.-led coalition,Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR), began transferring control over a number of military installations back toIraqi security forces, citing developments in themulti-year mission against theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). By 4 April 2020, four bases had been transferred. The base transfers and withdrawal were accelerated due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Iraq and the threat of Iranianproxy elements.
In February 2021,NATO announced it would expand its mission to train Iraqi forces in theirfight against ISIL,[14] partially reversing the U.S.-led troop withdrawals. In April 2021,U.S. Central Command stated that there were no plans for a total withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, citing continued threats posed by the ISIL insurgency and Iran-backed militias.[3]
If they do ask us to leave, if we don't do it in a very friendly basis, we will charge them sanctions like they've never seen before ever. It'll makeIranian sanctions look somewhat tame.
On 5 January 2020, theCouncil of Representatives of Iraq voted to obligate Iraq's government "to work towards ending the presence of all foreign troops on Iraqi soil."[16] It was initially unclear if the resolution was binding and no timetable for withdrawal was set.[10]Qais Khazali, leader of Iranian proxy groupAsa'ib Ahl al-Haq, stated "If [US troops] don't leave, then they will be considered occupation forces."[10] U.S. presidentDonald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on Iraq in response to the vote.[15] According to a letter sent by a senior U.S. commander to Iraqi officials on 6 January 2020, "the United States may be preparing to withdraw its troops",[17] but after a while Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen.Mark Milley, announced that it was a draft sent by "honest mistake."[18]
On 8 January 2020, Iran launched "Operation Martyr Soleimani", conducting missile strikes against U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.[17] 110 U.S. military personnel suffered fromtraumatic brain injuries.[19] The United States responded by insisting that its troops would stay in Iraq.[17] Speaking on the withdrawal, Trump stated "At some point, we want to get out. But this isn’t the right point."[17] Two days later, Abdul-Mahdi reiterated that all foreign troops must withdraw from Iraq, including Iran.[20] On 24 January 2020, Iraqi demonstrators marched to demand that the U.S. withdraw its troops.[21] Due to security concerns, someNATO countries including Canada, Germany,Croatia andSlovakia said they were concluding their training missions and pulling troops out of Iraq, at least temporarily.[22]
.jpg)
On 11 March and 14 March 2020,Camp Taji wasattacked, supposedly by Kata'ib Hezbollah, killing three Coalition personnel.[23] The United States responded to the first attack on Camp Taji by targeting five Kata'ib Hezbollah weapon storage facilities with air strikes.[24] On 19 March 2020, theal-Qaim base near theIraq–Syria border was transferred from the coalition toIraqi security forces.[25] Iraqi major general Tahsin Khafaji stated "This is the first step of US troops withdrawing from Iraq."[25] On 20 March 2020, CJTF-OIR confirmed that certain troops would be withdrawing from Iraq due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[26] On that same day,United States Central Command ordered a 14-day "stop movement" preventing any U.S. troops from entering or leaving Iraq andAfghanistan because of the pandemic.[27]
The U.S. Army left theQayyarah Airfield West on 26 March.[28] The third base,K-1 Air Base, to be transferred by the United States was nearKirkuk.[29] On 4 April 2020, the coalition transferred theAl-Taqaddum Air Base, making it the fourth base to be transferred to Iraqi forces.[29] ISIL had planned to take advantage of the vacuum in theSyrian Desert caused by the coronavirus-expedited withdrawal of U.S. troops.[30] In an April 2020 news release, CJTF-OIR reiterated that the base transfers were pre-planned and "are not related to recent attacks against Iraqi bases hosting Coalition troops, or the ongoing COVID-19 situation in Iraq."[29] However, an inspector general report released in May 2020 admitted that though the base transfers were planned ahead of time, they were accelerated due to the threat of Iranian proxies and the pandemic.[31]
By June 2020, the Iraqi government had yet to act on the January parliamentary resolution to call for the departure of foreign troops, and the Iraqi military was reportedly reluctant to have U.S. forces leave altogether.[32] On 1 June Spain announced its intentions to withdraw from its primary base in Iraq by the end of July.[33] The United States and Iraq scheduled new negotiations regarding military, political, and economic cooperation for June.[34] Strategic-level security dialogue between the two countries last occurred in 2018.[32] On 9 June 2020, prior to the start of the dialogue, a rocket attack against U.S. troops in Baghdad International Airport concluded with no injuries.[35] The Iraqi-U.S. negotiations began on June 11 and were to be conducted virtually and expected to continue for months.[32] The negotiations began amid continued tensions with Iran and a resurgence of ISIL attacks. According toThe New York Times, the ISIL insurgency began to intensify by mid-2020, partially due to Iraqi security forces diverting resources to enforce curfews and lock downs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[32]
The anti-ISIL coalition transferred control ofBesmaya Camp to Iraqi forces on 25 July 2020. The base was largely used by Spanish forces to train Iraqi troops and was the seventh military installation handed over to the Iraqi government in 2020.[36]
On 23 August, U.S. troops withdrew from Taji Base and handed it over to Iraqi security forces.[37] On 28 August, a U.S. official said that the U.S. was expected to reduce troops by a third from 5,200 to 3,500.[38] On 9 September, the U.S. military said it will reduce its troops in Iraq from 5,200 to 3,000.[5]
By January 2021, the U.S. had reduced its presence to 2,500 troops in Iraq. Moreover,Christopher C. Miller, the former acting Defense Secretary, noted that even with the reduced presence, they "will continue to have a counterterrorism platform in Iraq to support partner forces with air power and intelligence".[39]
On 15 February, two people were killed and an additional 13 were injured (including an American service member) following arocket attack on theU.S.-led coalition's base inErbil by a suspected Iranian-backed militia.[40]
On 18 February,NATOSecretary-GeneralJens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance will expand its mission to trainIraqi security forces (ISF) at the request of the Iraqi government. Stoltenberg said NATO will gradually increase personnel in the country from 500 to 4,000 and expand its presence to more facilities beyond the Baghdad area.The Pentagon reportedly welcomed NATO's decision, but it remained unclear at the time whether the U.S. would reverse its withdrawal and commit personnel under the NATO initiative.[14][39]
On 23 March, the Iraqi government formally requested a resumption of bilateral security dialogue with the U.S., taking place in April. The dialogue was the third session of Iraqi-U.S. strategic talks, in which the first and second happened in June and August 2020 respectively, and the first session under theBiden administration. The U.S. was expected to argue for continued coalition forces presence in the country with the task of training Iraqi forces "at the invitation of the Iraqi government" and combating the ISIL insurgency. U.S. officials nonetheless reportedly supported a scheduled future withdrawal of forces from Iraq at an unspecified date.[41]
After the third round of "strategic dialogue" concluded on 7 April, the U.S.-led coalition confirmed it would continue training and advising the Iraqi military while withdrawing combat forces from the country, citing "increasing capacity of the ISF", with a timetable forthcoming. Iraqi security officials agreed that a limited coalition presence was necessary to keep ISIL underground, despite continued pressure from Iran-backed militias to oust all coalition forces.[42] On 22 April,USCENTOM commander General"Frank" McKenzie welcomed NATO's planned expanded role in the country and denied the prospect of an approaching total withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, saying "we're going to stay in Iraq" to "finish the ISIS fight" at the behest of the Iraqi government. McKenzie also cited the continued threat Iran-backed militias posed to the coalition and affirmed his belief that ousting U.S. forces and their allies from the region was a foreign policy goal of Iran.[3]
On 26 July 2021, during Iraqi Prime MinisterMustafa Al-Kadhimi's visit to theWhite House during the fourth and final round of "strategic dialogue", U.S. presidentJoe Biden announced that the American combat mission in Iraq would conclude by the end of the year and that the remaining U.S. troops in the country would shift to an advisory role, "to be available to continue to train, to assist, to help, and to deal with ISIS". The move reportedly came at the urging of the Iraqi government and was not regarded as a major change by observers, as the U.S. already focused much of its efforts on training and assisting Iraqi security forces.[44]
It was reported on 8 October that American combat forces had begun to be withdrawn from Iraq, according to an Iraqi Army spokesman.[45]
On 9 December, Iraq and theU.S.-led coalition announced that the coalition's combat mission had concluded, formally transitioning remaining U.S. forces in the country to an advisory, assistance, and training role. Coalition commander Maj. Gen.John Brennan stated "Many brave men and women gave their lives to ensureDaesh never returns, and as we complete our combat role, we will remain here to advise, assist and enable," adding "Daesh is down, but not out." Around 2,500 U.S. troops remained in Iraq at the time of the announcement, and soldiers had not engaged in combat missions since early 2020.[1] CENTCOM commander Gen. "Frank" McKenzie confirmed that U.S. troops would remain in Iraq to assist Iraqi security forces, including providingair support and military aid.[2]
As regional tensions over the2023 Gaza war rise, there have been at least 14 drone and rocket attacks on American personnel in Iraq since October 7, 2023.[46]