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Joe Biden to call off U.S. combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year

Joe Biden to call off U.S. combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year

Joe Biden to call off U.S. combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year
Jul 26, 2021 1 min, 59 secs

will end its combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year, President Biden announced Monday, with American forces shifting to an advisory and training role but potentially opening the door, critics say, for Iran to gain even more influence in the region.

The concurrent pullout of American and foreign troops from Afghanistan is nearly complete after two decades in the country.

has about 2,500 troops in the country, and it’s not clear exactly how many will remain there in a new capacity.

The withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan represent a major shift for post-9/11 U.S.

Biden said ahead of an Oval Office meeting with the Iraqi leader.

“Our role in Iraq will be … just to be available, to continue to train, to assist, to help, and to deal with ISIS as it arises.

But we’re not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission,” the president said.

“As this evolution continues, and as we formally end the combat mission and make clear that there are no American forces with a combat role in the country, Iraq has requested, and we very much agree, that they need continued training; support with logistics, intelligence, advisory capacity building — all of which will continue,” a senior administration official told reporters on a background call with reporters.

The official said the Iraqi forces are “battle-tested” and able to defend their country, but keeping the U.S.

forces will be in danger even as the combat mission technically ends.

troops in Iraq and Syria.

“The White House may believe itself clever by rebranding its forces as non-combat experts, but this rhetorical sleight of hand doesn’t impress anyone outside of Washington or the Amtrak Corridor,” said former Defense Department official Michael Rubin, now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute

“Anti-American forces smell blood in the water as the American withdrawal from Afghanistan turns into a Taliban rout, and learn the same lessons: Keep pecking away at the Americans and they will flee.”

“It’s only a matter of time between one of the Iraqi militia rockets or an Iranian drone gets lucky and takes out a couple dozen Americans,” he said

Others argue that Tehran can devote more energy to other theaters with the departure of American combat troops next door, potentially making it an even bigger player across the broader Middle East

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