Gathered in the Oval Office on Monday, July 26, US President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi signed an agreement ending US troops’ combat mission in Iraq at the end of the year 2021. This agreement, unlike the complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan ordered by the Democratic President for the August 31 deadline, does not put an end to the American military engagement in Iraq. He opens a “New phase” in military cooperation between the two countries: soldiers will remain to train and assist the Iraqi forces, said the tenant of the White House, without specifying the number.
“Our common fight against the Islamic State organization [EI] is essential for the stability of the region, and our counterterrorism cooperation will continue as we move into this new phase, which we are discussing ”, Joe Biden added. “The relationship will completely evolve towards a role of training, advice, assistance and information sharing”, the US State Department said in a statement. According to officials of the Biden administration and the Pentagon, this new phase will result in the withdrawal of some of the 2,500 men still stationed in Iraq and the requalification on paper of the role devolved to others.
The signing of this agreement is in itself only a formalization of the withdrawal process initiated by former President Donald Trump. The majority of US troops, sent in 2014 as part of an international coalition to help Baghdad defeat ISIS, which had captured a third of Iraq, have been withdrawn. Since the proclamation of the “Military victory” on the jihadist group in December 2017, officially, the American soldiers still deployed in the country are not fighting and are already playing a role of “Advisers” and of “Trainers”. US officials have admitted, however, that a small number of special forces occasionally accompany Iraqi counterterrorism forces in their combat missions against jihadist cells.
A good compromise for Mustafa Al-Kadhimi
The contours of this “new phase” of military cooperation between Washington and Baghdad offer a good compromise to Mustafa Al-Kadhimi who, since his appointment in May 2020, has to compose between the two rival sponsors, Iran and the United States, entered into open confrontation on Iraqi soil. The announcement of a timetable for the withdrawal of American fighting forces allows him to give pledges to the pro-Tehran Shiite militias, and their numerous supporters among the Iraqi population, three months before the legislative elections scheduled for October 10, where he intends seek a new term.
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