Field artillerymen from the New Jersey Army National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 112th Field Artillery Regiment, 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, perform a live fire exercise with their counterparts from the Iraqi Division of Artillery’s 1st Brigade, in western Iraq, July 31, 2024. Advising, assisting, and enabling are key components of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve’s mission to enhance partner capacity in Iraq to ensure the enduring defeat of Da’esh. (U.S. Army photo)

US “Not Withdrawing” From Iraq With End Of Anti-Islamic State Mission

By in Counter Terrorism, Insurgency, Iraq, News, Politics, USA

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A spokesperson for the United States’ Department of Defense said on Friday that the winding down of the military mission to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq would not result in a full withdrawal of United States forces from the country, after it was announced that the military mission in Iraq would end in September 2025.

“The US is not withdrawing from Iraq”, said Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh during a press conference, telling reporters present that “I don’t have numbers to read out and locations to share with you, but I think it’s fair to say that our footprint is going to be changing within the country”.

Singh’s comments followed the publication of a joint agreement between the United States and Iraqi governments to wind down Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve in a two-stage process, a decade after the creation of the Task Force in response to the Islamic State’s offensive into Iraq.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Erik Munchmore, assigned to Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 134th Field Artillery Regiment, 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, discusses weapon capabilities with Iraqi partner forces. Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Feb. 27, 2023. Staff Sgt. Munchmore, is a part of the best M119A3 Howitzer team in the battalion within his section. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Julio Hernandez)
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Erik Munchmore, assigned to Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 134th Field Artillery Regiment, 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, discusses weapon capabilities with Iraqi partner forces. Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, Feb. 27, 2023. Staff Sgt. Munchmore, is a part of the best M119A3 Howitzer team in the battalion within his section. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Julio Hernandez)

The first stage of the process will see the conclusion of the coalition’s military mission in Iraq no later than the end of September 2025, “and transitioning to bilateral security partnerships in a manner that supports Iraqi forces and maintains pressure on ISIS”.

The second stage will facilitate the coalition’s anti-Islamic State mission in northeastern Syria until September 2026, with Iraq, the United States, and other coalition members to coordinate on the creation of a mechanism to support that mission.

In January, the United States announced that it would begin negotiations with the Iraqi government on the future of the coalition, amidst attacks by Iranian-backed militias on U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, and U.S. retaliatory attacks.

“This transition is not the end of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS”, said a State Department official on Friday. “The coalition will continue to support long-term efforts against ISIS in the region and around the globe. And the Government of Iraq, as a critical member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and in recognition of this threat, will continue to consult with the United States and members of the coalition on the nature and severity of the ISIS threat.”

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