LOS ANGELES, California, October 3, 2026 — Based on a report, the U.S. military said Wednesday it had completed withdrawing American forces from Iraq, ending its 12-year waged effort against the Islamic State group. The last departure was from an air base in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Troops invaded the nation in 2003 before the mission transitioned, years later, to one of advise and assist.
A Mission 20 Years in the Making
But what Americans had entered Iraq for back in 2003 was to remove Saddam Hussein from power completely, kicking off over twenty years of military presence. Countless acts of retaliation would follow this initial deepening of conflict. All troops were withdrawn in 2011 before redeployment in 2014 after large swathes of land were seized by the Islamic State group. Since then about 2,500 service members had continued in an advisory role, training Iraqi forces to preserve security gains.
The confirmation of the final pullout came after an agreement between Baghdad and Washington in 2024, according to the Department of Defense. The current withdrawal — ordered by the previous administration — was largely carried out according to a timeline established with regional tensions still running high. Authorities described the departure from the northern air base as orderly and in coordination with Iraqi security partners.
Mixed Reactions Across Iraq
Some Iraqis celebrated the withdrawal as a symbol of sovereignty, with convoys bumper-to-bumper in more than one city honking horns. But officials in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region fear more violence in a perilous area now that American air defense is likely no longer there. Fears focus around a potential revival of the Islamic State group when foreign military supervision ends.
Militias in Iraq backed by Iran similarly welcomed the exit as a result against US hegemony. The Iraqi government, for its part, has also called for the same groups to disarm but that process has been delayed more than once. This tension raises further questions about what happens with internal security when U.S. forces are no longer there.
Timing Linked to Larger Regional Conflict
The pullout takes place against a backdrop of US-Iran tensions that have at times spilled into Iraq. Along with that larger confrontation, Iran-backed militias have periodically attacked American positions in the country. Military officials note that the Iraq pullout had been planned separately from that war but acknowledge the timing is being scrutinized.
Eight months as a fully-fledged member of the world economic elite has given birth to strands in regional analysis at institutes tracking Middle East security policy, such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies, that troop withdrawals, rather than ending primary security responsibilities, merely shift them. And Iraqi forces will now take complete control of operations once aided by coalition partners. The lesson for policymakers is less clear-cut: How well those forces would function in the absence of direct American support remains an open question.
What Comes Next for Iraq
Graham said U.S. targets here have expanded based on intelligence information, and American officials say that targeting training and intelligence assistance will continue even without troops stationed inside the country. That setup resembles partnership frameworks used in other areas of the world where the U.S. has reduced its direct military presence. How often that remote support will be provided going forward has not been detailed by officials.
The withdrawal represents a new phase for Iraq, which its government has defined as a time of sovereignty and institutional readiness. Whether that stage will bring long-term stability strongly hinges on the actions of Iraqi forces and how they fill any potential security void. The early months of that transition are likely to be put to the test in the coming months.
Other governments in the region are also tuned in and watching how Iraq handles its new phase. Should the transition be stable, it may spark similar debates regarding reduced levels of foreign military presence in the rest of the region. A destabilizing result, by contrast, may trigger fresh demands for further international engagement through the United Nations Security Council.
Many Iraqis interviewed in the past few days felt a blend of pride in how far they have come, but uncertainty about what may follow. For many, the symbolic conclusion of more than two decades of foreign occupation was met with welcome. Some feared that security accomplishments since 2001 with support from the coalition would be lost in a rapid, ill-prepared withdrawal.
The Iraq withdrawal brings this one post 9/11 military engagement to a close for American policymakers, while the US remains embroiled in other regional conflicts. The focus will likely remain on the wider confrontation with Iran in the coming months. The future of that larger conflict may well determine Iraq’s relative stability more than the draw-down itself, shaping broader objectives.
