American Troop Withdrawal from Iraq Should Be Complete by End of 2021 - WSJ

By Staff, Agencies

Top US and Iraqi officials are expected to issue an announcement in the following days that will call for the removal of American soldiers from the war-torn nation by the end of 2021.

Citing knowledgeable officials, the Wall Street Journal [WSJ] reported that senior officials have come to the agreement that Iraq’s partnership with the US needs to shift away from a military presence and focus instead on increasing intelligence cooperation.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told the Journal that the Middle Eastern country does not “need any more fighters” since it already has a sufficient supply.

The foreign minister’s remarks largely echoed those made previously by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who stated earlier that while it’s time for US troops to head back stateside, Iraq would still need assistance in training, intelligence and air support.

Kadhimi had made the comments ahead of his looming in-person July meeting with US President Joe Biden, which is expected to touch on the continued cooperation between the two nations.

The latest comes after remarks issued by Kadhimi’s office and Brett McGurk, who serves as the special coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, raised alarms after mixed messages suggested that a pullout of US troops could happen sooner rather than later.

To date, the Biden administration has not provided a timeline on a possible troop withdrawal; however, it has been publicly acknowledged by both Iraqi and American officials that both parties are in agreement regarding an eventual withdrawal.

US occupation forces have been on Iraqi soil since March 2003, when tens of thousands of American forces were deployed under the pretext of making effort to oust former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Although troops were momentarily withdrawn under the Obama administration, soldiers were eventually redeployed in 2014 with the emergence of Daesh [the Arabic acronym for terrorist group ‘ISIS/ISIL’].

A renewed effort to remove US troops came after former US President Donald Trump ordered the January 2020 assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Quds Force Commander, Major Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces Deputy Chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The drone strike took place in Baghdad.