Trump classifies withdrawal from Iraq as victory for the United States

“ ANDthis day is a victory for the United States, a victory for Iraq and a decisive victory over the IS (Islamic State group),” said the American president at Truth Social.

The Republican also stressed that he had the choice “between staying or leaving” and that he considered “without any doubt, that it was time for the United States to return home.”.

Mobilized more than a decade ago in Iraq to fight the IS group, the last troops of the United States-led anti-jihadist coalition left the country today, leaving the Kurds apprehensive.

The alliance had staff from more than 80 countries, including France and Great Britain, which have gradually left over the past few months.

International forces had been deployed in Iraq and Syria in 2014, when the IS took over vast areas of territory and committed atrocities.

After defeating the group in 2017 in Iraq and later in 2019 in Syria, they remained on site to combat their last elements.

However, Baghdad and Washington decided in 2024 to complete the mission, even if jihadist foci still remain in some desert areas.

The coalition, which left Syria earlier this year, began its withdrawal from Iraq in 2025, limiting its presence to Erbil airport, the capital of the autonomous region of Kurdistan, in the north of the country.

The Pentagon today announced the departure of Erbil’s last troops, welcoming “the successful completion of the military mission that defeated” the IS.

With the end of the coalition mission, the Kurds, who accuse the Iraqi armed groups supported by Tehran of being behind these attacks, do not hide their concern.

“We have no means to protect the sky from Kurdistan,” said the Kurdish military commander Sirwan Barzani.

Former President of Kurdistan, Massoud Barzani, mentioned a “very good coordination with the Iraqi federal government to face any kind of threat or danger”.

During a ceremony, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Ali al-Zaidi, welcomed today what he called “a new stage” in the history of the country.

According to the governor, this stage will be marked “by the sovereignty of Iraq, the soundness of its institutions (...) and balanced partnerships with its friends” — an apparent reference to the United States and Iran, the two rival powers that exert influence in the country.

Iraq now faces the difficult task of disarming the powerful pro-Iran groups who have fought the same enemy of the coalition, the IS for years.

However, after the defeat of the jihadist group, the presence of coalition troops became an important source of tension between Baghdad and these factions, which demanded the withdrawal of forces before attacking them, causing retaliation attacks by the United States.

During the Middle East war, triggered in February by an Israeli-American offensive in Iran, armed groups intensified their attacks.

Under heavy pressure from Washington, Al-Zaidi committed this year to obtaining disarmament.