More than 23 years after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, and after years of bitter fighting against the "Islamic State" (ISIS) organization, the last American forces are withdrawing from Iraq.
The withdrawal is scheduled to be officially completed on Wednesday (September 30, 2026). An Iraqi official told the German News Agency on Sunday (September 27, 2026) that all American combat forces and logistical support forces had left the country. There has been no official confirmation from the United States yet.
Iraq and the United States agreed to withdraw in 2024. According to the Pentagon, about 2,500 American soldiers have been stationed in Iraq in recent years. Before the withdrawal, American forces were stationed in Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, at a base near Baghdad Airport, and in the government complex in the capital known as the Green Zone.
The American combat mission to fight the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (ISIS) ended in 2021, and the remaining American soldiers in the country were serving only as advisors and trainers.
The withdrawal is one of the main demands of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and the Iranian-backed Shiite militias in the country. These militias were supposed to hand over their weapons in conjunction with the American withdrawal. However, this step has been postponed until June 2027, and its chances of success remain uncertain.
The US military presence in Iraq is linked to the terrorist attacks that targeted the United States in September 2001. The then US President, George W. Bush, declared a “war on terrorism” and coined the term “axis of evil”: Iran, Iraq and North Korea, and accused these countries of supporting terrorist networks.
The United States accused the then Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, of links to Al-Qaeda and seeking to possess weapons of mass destruction. Both accusations were later proven false. However, in 2003, the United States invaded Iraq with its allies and overthrew the regime of Saddam Hussein, whose brutal rule claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Many historians view the invasion of Iraq as the worst decision in the history of American foreign policy, as it was followed by years of uprisings, chaos, and violence between Shiite and Sunni groups, resulting in the deaths of approximately 4,500 American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis.
Pictures of Abu Ghraib prison detainees being subjected to torture and ill-treatment at the hands of members of the US military have spread around the world.
During and after the war, Iran and its allied militias significantly increased their influence. The political vacuum also contributed to the strengthening of Al-Qaeda, and later led to the emergence of the "Islamic State" (ISIS).
The total cost of the war was estimated at up to three trillion US dollars. At times, up to 160,000 American soldiers were stationed in the country.
American forces returned at Baghdad's request to confront the so-called "caliphate" of the "Islamic State" organization, in whose name Shiites and Yazidis were killed. Video clips of executions horrified the world. The terrorist attacks transferred the organization's threat to Europe and the United States.
With the launch of "Operation Inherent Resolve" led by the United States, which was joined by more than 80 countries, the battle to liberate Iraq and Syria from the oppression of the organization began. Fierce battles sometimes continued for weeks and months. The British "Air Wars" organization counted 1,400 casualties from the American coalition forces, and about 13,000 civilian deaths. The German Armed Forces have participated in the mission since 2015.
The extremist organization was declared militarily defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019. The organization’s cells are still active and continue to launch attacks from time to time, but the extremist organization has lost the vast areas it previously controlled in both countries.
The victory, achieved after tens of thousands of air strikes, was only possible with the help of local fighters, including the Kurdish Peshmerga.
Today, ISIS in Iraq is focused on its “survival,” according to the latest report from Operation Inherent Resolve. In Iraq, as in Syria, from which US forces withdrew in April of this year, attacks have decreased to a level similar to what they were in 2013. Thousands of ISIS prisoners are currently in Iraqi prisons.
It was originally scheduled that the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq would disarm and integrate into the government security apparatus in parallel with the withdrawal of US forces.
Hence, withdrawal is in Iran's interest, as it enables it to maintain or even expand its influence in Iraq. Iraqi militias linked to Iran could continue to attack US facilities or energy infrastructure in Gulf states. Some fear a repeat of the scenario of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan: a military withdrawal without sufficient mitigation of threats. However, with the departure of American soldiers, the Shiite militias are losing one of their most important arguments to justify armed “resistance.”
Washington will continue to press for the disarmament of pro-Iranian Iraqi militias. Lahib Hajel, of the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, says, “The goal should not be to turn Iraq against Iran. Iran has great political influence in Iraq, and it is a very important economic partner for Iraq.” Lahib Hagel adds, referring to the delicate balance between Tehran and Washington: “Iraq needs space to find its own balance.”
The Kurds, who were subjected to hundreds of attacks during the war between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, and are now losing their most important protective shield, face a greater danger. After the end of "self-administration" in Syria, of which the Kurds were the backbone, after the end of American support, they fear for their project of self-rule, which was originally established under Western protection, according to what the Atlantic Council Research Center reported. Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani described the situation as a "disgrace."
