The United States announced the end of its military presence in Iraq after 23 years on Wednesday, ending one of the U.S.’s most controversial military adventures.
asserted
States → announce → adventures
The final U.S. troops and equipment departed Erbil Air Base in the country’s northeast autonomous Kurdish region, War Department Spokesman Sean Parnell announced.
asserted
Parnell → depart → region
He said the “orderly departure” concludes Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, the 12-year anti-ISIS mission that triggered a surge in U.S. troops to assist Baghdad after it faced collapse in the face of a supercharged jihadi insurgency, in a successful manner.
asserted
it → say → manner
“This milestone reflects the success of a 12-year campaign that defeated ISIS as an organized military threat in Iraq and across the region.
asserted
that → reflect → region
It also marks a transition from a wartime coalition mission to an Iraqi-led security effort supported by a more normal bilateral security relationship,” Parnell said in a statement.
asserted
Parnell → mark → statement
He said the Pentagon would “continue to provide training and intelligence to support our Iraqi partners,” and said the U.S. would “expect” Iraqi Security Forces to “lead the continuing effort to secure Iraq and keep ISIS remnants suppressed.”
asserted
remnants → say → Iraq
“The primary responsibility for addressing Iraq’s remaining security challenges, including ISIS remnants and Iran-aligned militias that undermine Iraqi sovereignty and regional stability, now rests with the Government of Iraq,” Parnell said.
asserted
Parnell → address → Iraq
The withdrawal came as the result of a September 2024 deal with Baghdad.
asserted
withdrawal → come → Baghdad
Ultimately, 3,481 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq since the launching of Operation Iraqi Freedom on March 20, 2003, according to the Defense Casualty Analysis System, with another 937 “non-hostile” U.S. deaths.
uncertain
troops → kill → deaths
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi presided over a handover ceremony, and celebrated the development as marking the successful conclusion of the international effort combatting ISIS.
asserted
Zaidi → preside → ISIS
“We announce the end of the mission of the international coalition fighting ISIS, demonstrating that cooperation between friendly forces and friendly peoples has produced victory over one of the darkest chapters of extremism and brutality in history,” he said.
asserted
he → announce → history
“The mission has concluded in victory, and the responsibility for protecting this victory falls today on all our shoulders,” al Zaidi added.
asserted
Zaidi → conclude → shoulders
He extended his “thanks and appreciation” to the U.S. forces and other members of the international coalition, concluding the controversial U.S. presence on a positive note.
asserted
He → extend → note
The withdrawal of U.S. forces, he said, began a “new phase, one defined by Iraq’s sovereignty, the strength of its institutions, the readiness of its forces, the unity of its decision-making, and balanced partnerships with its friends.”
asserted
he → say → friends
The prime minister and commander in chief then shifted to the next battle to conclude his speech, turning to the fraught issue of disarming Iran-backed militias.
asserted
minister → shift → militias
He said there should be “no weapon outside the umbrella of the law, and no force outside the state’s institutions, in accordance with the constitution and what our wise religious authority has called for, and what our people desire.
asserted
people → say → what
The U.S. withdrew without a firm resolution on militia disarmament.
asserted
U.S. → withdraw → disarmament
Iraq was saved from an ISIS takeover largely due to the mobilization of tens of thousands of Shiite fighters, but after the defeat of the caliphate, they retained their formations and became a parallel state.
asserted
they → save → formations
Al Zaidi has made disarmament a priority, but he has few avenues to accomplish this.
asserted
he → make → this
Baghdad first set a deadline of Sept. 30 for the disarmament of all nonstate armed groups, but the date has come without much movement.
asserted
date → set → movement
The prime minister has since pushed back the deadline, telling the New York Times earlier this month that the new deadline is June 2027.
asserted
deadline → push → Times
Abu Mujahid al Assaf, a security official with Kataib Hezbollah, one of the most powerful Iran-backed militias, responded to the U.S. withdrawal by celebrating and issuing a barely-veiled threat to overthrow al Zaidi.
asserted
Assaf → back → Zaidi
“The expulsion of the occupation forces, defeated, from the land of Iraq is the beginning of full sovereignty,” he said in a statement, then warned the prime minister not to carry out any U.S. plans.
“Any government that does not work for the benefit of the people will be overthrown by all means,” al Assaf added.
asserted
Assaf → defeat → means
The Kurdish regional government’s Peshmerga Ministry said it had come under attack from over 1,000 drones and ballistic missiles from Iran and its militias in the war, and that the U.S. withdrawal, “under these complex regional circumstances, without the provision of a defense system, is a matter of concern.”
asserted
withdrawal → say → concern
By the time of the withdrawal, the U.S. presence in Iraq was a far cry from the 150,000 U.S. soldiers who poured into Iraq beginning on March 20, 2003 to topple the government of Saddam Hussein.
asserted
who → pour → Hussein
While the initial invasion was highly successful, toppling the beleaguered government with minimal losses, the U.S. soon found itself facing a resentful populace and a spiraling sectarian civil war, pitting largely Iran-backed Shiite militias against Sunni terrorist groups and militias.
asserted
itself → topple → groups
The U.S. presence in Iraq peaked in late 2007 during the Iraq War troop surge, when President George W. Bush sent more troops into the country to deal with the growing insurgency.
asserted
Bush → peak → insurgency
President Barack Obama withdrew the vast majority of U.S. troops in 2011, officially ending the Iraq War but keeping hundreds of U.S. troops for security.
asserted
Obama → withdraw → security
The situation changed once again in 2014, when ISIS took advantage of weakened central authority in Baghdad and the civil war in neighboring Syria to create its own caliphate spanning the two countries.
asserted
ISIS → change → countries
After a series of crushing losses, the U.S. sent thousands of soldiers back into Iraq in a supporting role to assist the government.
asserted
U.S. → send → government
The effort was paralleled by a mobilization of Iran-backed militias, which ultimately defeated the physical caliphate in 2018.
asserted
which → parallel → 2018
The U.S. retained a sizable presence both to ensure that ISIS didn’t reclaim the advantage and to keep the massive Iran-backed militias in check.
asserted
ISIS → retain → check
The U.S. bases came under repeated attack from these militias over the years, and by the time of the full withdrawal, were viewed as an increasing liability given the vulnerability of the bases.
asserted
bases → come → bases
The impending U.S. withdrawal was known for some time, but the final departure came with noticeably little fanfare in the U.S.
asserted
departure → impend → U.S.
The departure was overshadowed by the continued war with Iran, which is locked in a stalemate.
asserted
which → overshadow → stalemate
U.S. forces in Iraq had been repeatedly targeted by Iran-backed forces throughout the war.
asserted
forces → target → war
The Aporia
