US soldiers are withdrawing from Iraq, a new era begins

A new era begins in Iraq with the departure of US soldiers, who have 9 military bases in the country.

Iraqi Defense Minister Yahya Rasul announced to Qatar-based Al Jazeera television that coalition forces have withdrawn from the country. With the withdrawal, many US bases across the country were emptied.

US forces, which overthrew Saddam Hussein's administration and occupied Iraq in 2003, withdrew from the country in 2011. However, 3 years later, he redeployed to the country in cooperation with the Iraqi government under the name of fighting against the terrorist organization ISIS. After ISIS lost power in Iraq in 2017, Washington decided to withdraw again in 2024.

TROOPS WILL NOT RETURN TO THE USA

Although the withdrawal would mean the end of the US military presence in Iraq in its current form, a significant portion of the departing troops will not return to the US.

Iraq and the USA announced a two-stage transition plan to end the military mission of the US-led international coalition in the country in September 2024.

In the first phase of this plan, it was envisaged to complete the military mission in Iraq and start bilateral security cooperation, and in the second phase, it was envisaged to continue the support given to anti-DAESH operations in Syria from Iraqi territory.

According to claims in the American press, "hundreds of soldiers" will be redeployed to Jordan and other points throughout the Middle East.

DEFENSE CONCERN FROM IKYB

On the other hand, the Ministry of Peshmerga of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) expressed its concerns about the air defense capacity of the region as the withdrawal of the coalition approaches.

The Ministry stated that the KRG was exposed to more than 1000 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and ballistic missile attacks during the recent tension between the USA and Iran, and noted that the regional airspace is an integral part of Iraq's national airspace and that the protection of this area is the constitutional responsibility of the federal government.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also warned that the withdrawal of US forces could leave the region defenseless and pointed out the inadequacy of air defense systems in northern Iraq.

Reminding that the security vacuum that emerged after the US's withdrawal decision in 2011 paved the way for the rise of DAESH, Barzani emphasized that a similar situation could occur again.

The military base and headquarters arrangement of the US-led coalition in Iraq will officially end as of September 30; It is expected that the foreign military presence in the country will be replaced entirely by the responsibility of Iraqi forces and bilateral security cooperation between Baghdad and Washington.