As US ends operations in Iraq, Baghdad celebrates its withdrawal and renewed sovereignty - analysis

Baghdad asked the US to return. Now, in a kind of “no good deed goes unpunished” manner, Iraq is celebrating the US leaving after asking the US for help.

US forces that were part of the US-led Coalition against ISIS ended their role in Iraq on September 30, in line with a deadline that had been in the works for a year.

The Iraqi government has appeared to celebrate this departure, calling it a day of “sovereignty,” with some in Baghdad claiming it marks a new kind of “independence” for Iraq. Many have portrayed the US as leaving after 23 years in Iraq, since the invasion of 2003.

The fact is that the US returned to Iraq in 2014 after having already left once in 2011. Baghdad asked the US to return. Now, in a kind of “no good deed goes unpunished” manner, Iraq is celebrating the US leaving after asking the US for help.

US Central Command said on September 30 that “US Central Command (CENTCOM) completed the orderly departure of US forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base, Sept. 30, marking the end of the Operation Inherent Resolve mission in Iraq.”

They noted that “the move from Iraq is part of a planned transition to a US-Iraq bilateral defense relationship. Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) remains operational and is now headquartered in Jordan as US forces continue the counter-ISIS mission in Syria alongside Coalition partners and the Syrian government.”

Iranian-backed militias in Iraq attack US bases in region since 2019

The US had helped advise and assist the Iraqis, as well as the Kurdish Peshmerga, in fighting ISIS. The US also left Syria earlier this year. ISIS was largely defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019. People questioned why the US stayed so long. US President Donald Trump wanted American forces to leave Syria back in 2018.

He had argued that the US could move troops from Syria to Iraq and use Iraq as a kind of base to watch Iran and deal with threats in the region.

However, the US remained in Syria, despite renewed attempts to leave in 2019. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq began attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2019.

This culminated in a US response that killed IRGC Quds Force head Qasem Soleimani and killed Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahda al-Muhandis. Iraq continued to empower the militias and make them an official force. This threatened the US, and US forces mostly moved to Erbil in the Kurdistan Region since 2020.

United States is withdrawing completely

Now the US is leaving completely. “Job well done to the tens of thousands of American service members, diplomats, and civilian personnel who answered the call in Iraq,” Chief Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said on September 30. “Because of your grit, sacrifice, and professionalism, ISIS no longer poses a systemic threat to Iraq’s national security, and Iraqi security forces, including the Peshmerga and other Iraqi Kurdistan Region security forces, now possess the capacity, leadership, and operational independence to unilaterally manage threats to their homeland.”

CENTCOM noted that Erbil Air Base was the most recent hub of the operation, hosting most of the 1,500 American and Coalition forces supporting counter-ISIS operations.

“As we step back and hand full primary responsibility for Iraq’s security to the Government of Iraq and the brave people of Iraq, US and Coalition forces stationed across the region will remain ready to respond to any ISIS threats that arise,” said Cooper.

“Maintaining our vigilance and readiness is essential to protecting the US homeland and strengthening regional security.”

As the US leaves, Iraqi media says that four Iranian-backed factions continue to want to keep their weapons. Baghdad wants to rein in the militias.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi spoke at a Sovereignty Day ceremony in Baghdad. Al-Zaidi said the end of the Coalition mission "does not mean the end of our fight against terrorism,” adding that security cooperation with Coalition countries would continue, focusing on intelligence sharing, training, expertise, and technology, Shafaq News noted.