The United States President Joe Biden has announced that the US authority will withdraw its combat forces in Iraq by the end of the year. The decision came after Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi met Mr Biden at the White House on July 26.
A few US army personnel will remain in Iraq to counsel the Iraqi security forces and prevent any possibility of a resurgence of Islamic States in the region.
Answering the questions by reporters Mr Biden said, “Our role in Iraq will be — to be available, to continue to train, to assist, to help, and to deal with ISIS as it — as it arrives. But we’re not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission”.
Mr Biden and Mr Kadhimi discussed a range of issues, including Covid 19, climate, energy, education and other security threats.
In an interview with the Associate Press on July 25, Kadhimi had said that “There is no need for any foreign combat forces on Iraqi soil”, and the Iraqi security forces are capable of providing security to its citizen without a US-led coalition.
The presence of the US army in Iraq has been a heated topic in the middle-east since the US-directed airstrike at the Baghdad International Airport that killed the Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
Iranian general Qassem Soleimani (Image: @AbGhaffarNazari/twitter)
US In Iraq—
The US troops invaded Iraq in 2003 to neutralise the weapon of mass destruction (WMD) and oust President Saddam Hussain. However, the existence of WMD turned out to be a hoax. Currently, there are around 2500 American security personnel in Iraq.
In 2009, the then US President Barack Obama had announced the withdrawal of US combat forces in Iraq and in 2011, the US extracted all its troops.
However, they returned three years after at the request of the Iraqi regime as IS jihadi groups paved the danger to the government.
In April, the US had announced to withdraw its security men from war-torn country Afghanistan.
About Author
