Baghdad celebrates, Kurds concerned as US completes Iraq withdrawal

The last contingent of American soldiers in Iraq is set to leave today, concluding a nearly two-decade US military footprint in the nation. Jen Gavito, a former high-ranking State Department official, noted that this marks the fulfillment of years of negotiations and the culmination of decades of backing for Iraq's security forces.

By empowering Iraq's security apparatus, the US has aimed to ensure the country can safeguard itself independently. However, the withdrawal is not without its challenges. While ISIS has been severely weakened, the terrorist organization remains a threat, according to Gavito. Moreover, the US-Iraq relationship will undergo a significant transformation following this withdrawal, potentially to Iran's advantage, according to Victoria Taylor, director of the Iraq Initiative at the Atlantic Council.

Iran has long viewed the US troop departure as a key objective in the broader Middle East. Taylor commented, "The Iranians are celebrating the US withdrawal from Iraq right now." The US presence in Iraq began in 2003 and initially ended in 2011 before a return in 2014 to combat the Islamic State. There were around 2,500 troops in Iraq at the time of withdrawal.

The US withdrawal coincides with Iraq's government seeking to disarm militia groups, a demand made more pressing by the Trump administration. The Iraqi government had initially set Sept. 30 as the disarmament deadline, aligning it with the US withdrawal, but Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi extended it to June 2027. Disarming these groups poses a significant hurdle, as Taylor pointed out.

While successive Iraqi prime ministers claim that US troop departure could facilitate militia disarmament by removing a key justification for their resistance, the reality is more complex. Iran appears keen to maintain these groups as a tool of its influence, especially as the US-Iran conflict persists.