U.S. Completes Troop Withdrawal From Iraq After 23 Years

The final withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq under a U.S.-Iraqi agreement concludes the latest phase of an American military presence that began in 2003. The last American troops left mainly from an airbase in Erbil in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region on September 30, 2024. A September 2024 agreement set the path for this latest military withdrawal. Under the two-stage plan agreed by Washington and Baghdad, the coalition's military mission in Iraq was to conclude by the end of September 2025. Nearly 5,000 Americans died in Iraq deployments since the 2003 invasion, along with several hundred thousand other casualties among U.S. contractors, allies, and Iraqi people.

Baghdad asserts sovereignty amid ongoing security challenges

Iraq is marking the withdrawal with four 'Sovereignty Days'. Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi, speaking at the 81st UN General Assembly on September 25, 2024, said Iraq was committed to ensuring the state remained the ultimate authority over war and peace and that weapons remained under constitutional institutions. Al-Zaidi had earlier pledged to disarm powerful Iran-aligned militias by September 30, 2026. He later indicated the process of bringing armed groups under state control could run until June 30, 2027.

The Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMU/PMF) were created in 2014 to fight ISIS and became part of Iraq's formal security architecture. Most PMU factions are Shia, including powerful groups with close ties to Iran, but the organisation also contains Sunni and minority formations. The withdrawal does not mean the ISIS threat has disappeared. The burden of containing the remaining network increasingly falls on Iraqi institutions. Baghdad must maintain counterterrorism capabilities, prevent an ISIS resurgence, protect critical infrastructure, and manage competing armed groups. The focus of the sovereignty debate has shifted from foreign forces inside Iraq to who controls the use of force inside Iraq.

Regional partners reassess security ties after U.S. departure

The Kurdistan Regional Government raised concerns about the loss of U.S. security capabilities following the American withdrawal. The Kurdistan Region has faced substantial drone and ballistic-missile threats during recent regional conflict. Kurdish authorities maintained a close security relationship with Washington for more than a decade, especially during the fight against ISIS. The region is an autonomous federal entity with a complicated relationship with Baghdad over oil revenues, budgets, territory, and autonomy limits.

The U.S. departure could increase pressure on Kurdish leaders to strengthen coordination with Baghdad while reassessing wider regional security relationships. ISIS now operates primarily through clandestine networks rather than the large territorial structure it controlled between 2014 and 2017. Iraqi forces continue to conduct operations against ISIS remnants.

Economic and strategic ties between Iraq and the U.S. endure

Despite the troop withdrawal, Iraq remains integrated into the U.S.-linked financial system. Iraqi oil revenues are held through an account belonging to Iraq's central bank at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This arrangement developed after the 2003 invasion via the Development Fund for Iraq. The U.S. and Iraq are expected to retain cooperation in security, information exchange, and economic relations.

Iraq wants to develop its energy potential and strengthen its position as a regional economic and energy hub. Projects like the Development Road, which aims to connect the Grand Faw Port with Türkiye and European markets, are part of this vision. Washington will continue targeted training and intelligence support to Iraq after the withdrawal, while Iraq retains responsibility for counterterrorism and managing internal security dynamics. One author of the era reflected on the war's legacy, stating, "I believed at the time that we were fighting terrorists and helping to create a free Iraq." The same author added, "Two decades later, I have no idea why we were really fighting there."