US to further draw down forces in Iraq

The Pentagon plans to reduce US military personnel in Iraq to 2,500 by January on President Donald Trump's orders, declaring their mission to be accomplished.

The announced withdrawal from Iraq and a parallel drawing down of US forces in Afghanistan, also to 2,500 personnel, "does not equate to a change in US policy and objectives," acting defense secretary Christopher Miller told reporters today. "With the blessings of provenance, in the coming year we will finish this generational war."

As with many of Trump's actions since the 3 November presidential election, the announced drawdown is a way to ensure his policies outlast his presidency. Trump for years talked about reducing the US military presence in the Middle East, even though he ended up increasing it by 14,000 last year as his Iran policy increased tensions in the region.

Trump in 2018 and 2019 twice announced a full withdrawal of US troops in Syria, but almost 1,000 special forces personnel remain there, now under a mission to protect oil fields and infrastructure in the Kurdish-populated parts of that country.

The US deployed forces to Iraq and Syria in 2015 following territorial gains by Islamist group Isis. The bulk of fighting against Isis ended by 2017, but US troops remained as Trump's officials sought to redefine their mission as confronting Iran's influence in Iraq and Syria. Trump's latest orders follow a purge at the Pentagon after his election defeat, which removed defense secretary Mark Esper and the department's top policy and intelligence officials.

The US expects its allies and local partners to take the lead in the fight against the resurgence of Isis, Miller said. "Today is another critical step in that direction as a result of President Trump's bold leadership," he said.

Esper in October announced that US troops in Iraq would be reduced to 3,000 personnel from the then-level of 5,200 even though the goal was not fully met.

US Defense and State department officials earlier this year scoffed at the request of the Iraqi parliament to fully withdraw US troops from Iraq. The Trump administration at the same time pressured Iraqi prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to rein in Iran-associated Iraqi militias and to take stronger steps to protect the US embassy and other installations in Baghdad's so-called Green Zone, which has come under continuing rocket attacks.

With the Trump administration on its way out — even though the incumbent president has refused to concede the election — the State Department has turned to its allies to help protect US interests in Baghdad. "The French have also done their part to urge the Iraqis to take the appropriate steps necessary to provide security in the Green Zone," a senior State Department official said following secretary of state Mike Pompeo's visit to Paris on 15 November.

Pompeo's foreign tour continues in the next six days with stops in Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where he is expected to urge his counterparts to stand firm in their opposition to Iran despite president-elect Joe Biden's proposed re-engagement with Tehran.

The inconsistency in the administration's messaging of reducing troops in the Middle East while pursuing a "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran prompted Republican lawmakers to criticize Trump's drawdown decision.

"The consequences of a premature American exit would likely be even worse than President (Barack) Obama's withdrawal from Iraq back in 2011, which fueled the rise of Isis and a new round of global terrorism," Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said. "It would be reminiscent of the humiliating American departure from Saigon in 1975."

By Haik Gugarats