Biden to Herald an End to Iraq Combat Even as U.S. Troops Remain

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi plan to announce Monday that the American combat mission in Iraq will be over by the end of the year, a senior administration official said, though the U.S. is expected to continue having a military presence on the ground.

The largely symbolic announcement comes as U.S. troops have gradually transitioned into an advisory and training role. The plan is expected to be detailed in a communique issued after the leaders have an Oval Office meeting, the official said on the condition of anonymity to preview the move.

The formal step gives both leaders boasting rights. It comes as Biden is completing the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and as Iraqi leaders face pressure from hard-line Shiite factions who want all of the remaining 2,500 American troops to leave the country. Iran-backed militias have launched rocket and drone attacks against bases housing U.S. troops.

Al-Kadhimi said there is “no need for the combat troops,” in an interview with the Al-Arabiya channel this month. He said Iraq’s troops were undertaking the responsibility to fight Islamic State militants, but still needed training and intelligence backup. He added that Iraq doesn’t want to be a conflict arena between U.S. and Iran, and that he’s working with both sides.

The U.S. has trained 250,000 Iraqis and believes that they’ve proven “capable” of defending the country, the official said. Still, the U.S. will remain attentive to the threat posed by Islamic State, which the official said only reinforces the need for Americans to continue in their advisory and training role.

The U.S. withdrew from Iraq in 2011, but returned in 2014 after the rise of Islamic State terrorists across large parts of Iraq and Syria. More recently, Iraq has become a proxy battleground for conflict between Washington and Tehran following former President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

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