{"id":66203,"date":"2018-02-05T20:45:11","date_gmt":"2018-02-05T20:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/05\/us-begins-reducing-troops-in-iraq-after-victory-over-isis\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:13:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:13:28","slug":"us-begins-reducing-troops-in-iraq-after-victory-over-isis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/05\/us-begins-reducing-troops-in-iraq-after-victory-over-isis\/","title":{"rendered":"US begins reducing troops in Iraq after victory over ISIS"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=257b91fa-ad0e-49b8-a2fc-a5adc087a913\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-257b91fa-ad0e-49b8-a2fc-a5adc087a913.jpg\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">U.S. troops are beginning to withdraw from Iraq following Baghdad&#8217;s declaration of victory over the Islamic State group last year,<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AL-ASAD AIRBASE, Iraq \u2014 The U.S. has started to reduce the number of its troops in Iraq following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/12\/09\/iraq-says-its-war-against-is-has-ended\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Baghdad\u2019s declaration of victory<\/a> over the Islamic State group last year, an Iraqi government spokesman and Western contractors said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move marks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/12\/20\/iraq-declared-victory-over-isis-but-the-fight-isnt-over\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">a shift in priorities for the U.S.<\/a> following the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/10\/29\/their-caliphate-in-ruins-isis-militants-melt-into-the-desert\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">collapse of the extremists\u2019 so-called caliphate<\/a> late last year. It also comes about three months ahead of Iraqi national elections in which paramilitary groups with close ties to Iran are set to play a decisive role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dozens of U.S. soldiers have been transported from Iraq to Afghanistan on daily flights in the past week, along with weapons and equipment, the contractors said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An Associated Press reporter at the Al-Asad base in western Iraq saw troop movements reflecting the account by contractors. The contractors spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations and declined to reveal the exact size of the drawdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe battle against Daesh has ended, and so the level of the American presence will be reduced,\u201d said government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi, who used the Arabic language acronym for ISIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/01\/17\/as-isis-threat-fades-fight-over-who-gets-credit-rises\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"175\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ISIS.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">As ISIS threat fades, fight over who gets credit rises<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Lawmakers at a House hearing Wednesday sparred over whether the strategy of President Donald Trump or former President Barack Obama led to success.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Al-Hadithi stressed that the drawdown \u2014 the first since the war against ISIS began more than three years ago \u2014 was still in its early stages and doesn\u2019t mark the beginning of a complete pullout of U.S. forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cContinued coalition presence in Iraq will be conditions-based, proportional to the need and in coordination with the government of Iraq,\u201d Army Col. Ryan Dillon, a coalition spokesman, told the AP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One senior Iraqi official close to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said 60 percent of all U.S. troops still in Iraq will be withdrawn, according to the initial agreement reached with Washington. The plan would leave about 4,000 U.S. troops to continue training the Iraqi military. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As of late September, there were 8,892 U.S. troops in Iraq, according to a Pentagon report released in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"688\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18036249752397.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-90243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18036249752397.jpg.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18036249752397.jpg.jpg?resize=300,202 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18036249752397.jpg.jpg?resize=768,516 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this April 17, 2017, file photo, U.S. soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division fire artillery in support of Iraqi forces fighting Islamic State militants from their base east of Mosul. Western contractors at a U.S.-led coalition base in Iraq say American troops have started to drawdown from the country following the defeat of the Islamic State group. (Maya Alleruzzo\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. first launched airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq in August 2014. The intervention was described at the time as \u201climited,\u201d but as Iraq\u2019s military struggled to roll back the extremists, the coalition\u2019s footprint in the country grew steadily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve had a recent change of mission, and soon we\u2019ll be supporting a different theater of operations in the coming month,\u201d U.S. Army 1st Lt. William John Raymond told the AP at the Al-Asad base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He spoke as he and a handful of soldiers from his unit conducted equipment inventory checks required before leaving Iraq. Raymond declined to specify where his unit was going because the information has not yet been made public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the lead up to the Iraqi elections slated for May, the indefinite presence of U.S. troops in the country continues to be a divisive issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Al-Abadi, who is seeking another term, has struggled to balance the often competing interests of Iran and the United States, both key allies who have backed him against <span class=\"js-paste-start-O444XE2IXZCEBD6HHMA7KXOSPI\">ISIS<span class=\"js-paste-end-O444XE2IXZCEBD6HHMA7KXOSPI\">.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the U.S. has closely supported key Iraqi military victories over ISIS in places like the city of Mosul, some of the Shiite-led paramilitary forces with close ties to Iran have called for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. The prime minister has stated that Iraq\u2019s military will need U.S. training for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a message to those who doubt the government\u2019s decisions regarding the presence of American (forces in Iraq): There are rules and the promise of a withdrawal,\u201d al-Hadithi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2017\/12\/06\/pentagon-now-says-7200-troops-are-in-iraq-and-syria\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635951057539844507-april-1-frontlines-3jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Pentagon now says 7,200 troops are in Iraq and Syria<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Pentagon is trying to downplay troop numbers for both countries.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some in Iraq\u2019s Sunni minority community view the U.S. presence in Iraq as a buffer against the country\u2019s Shiite-dominated central government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe (drawdown) is an abdication of responsibility by the coalition,\u201d said Fahad al-Rashed, a member of the provincial council in Anbar province, which has a Sunni majority. He said he recognized that the decision fell within the jurisdiction of the central government, but that local officials in Anbar would have asked the U.S. to reconsider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The drawdown also follows the release of the Pentagon\u2019s National Defense Strategy that cited China\u2019s rapidly expanding military and an increasingly aggressive Russia as the U.S. military\u2019s top national security priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGreat power competition, not terrorism, is now the primary focus of U.S. national security,\u201d Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said last month in outlining the strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iraq declared victory over ISIS in December after more than three years of grueling combat against the extremists \u2014 fighting that largely took place with close U.S. support. In 2014, at the height of the Sunni militant group\u2019s power, IS controlled nearly a third of Iraqi territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the self-styled caliphate across parts of Iraq and Syria has crumbled and the militants no longer hold a contiguous stretch of territory, the group still poses a security risk in Iraq, according to Iraqi and U.S. officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ISIS maintains a \u201ccellular structure\u201d of fighters who carry out attacks in Iraq aimed at disrupting security, U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. James Glynn told reporters at a Pentagon briefing last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Glynn pledged continued support for Iraq\u2019s security forces but acknowledged that coalition \u201ccapabilities\u201d in Iraq would likely shift now that conventional combat operations against the group have largely ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There were about 170,000 U.S. troops in Iraq in 2007 at the height of the surge of U.S. forces to combat sectarian violence unleashed by the U.S.-led invasion to topple dictator Saddam Hussein. U.S. troop numbers eventually fell to 40,000 before the complete withdrawal in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad. Associated Press writer Muhanad al-Saleh in Baghdad contributed.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. has started to reduce the number of its troops in Iraq following Baghdad\u2019s declaration of victory over the Islamic State group last year, an Iraqi government spokesman and Western contractors said Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":93859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[100,8,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1147,365],"class_list":["post-66203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"PZCRBJMTCZHGBGIRXWNTUUNDRQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/05\/us-begins-reducing-troops-in-iraq-after-victory-over-isis\/","remove_feature_photo":true,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US begins reducing troops in Iraq after victory over ISIS - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The U.S. has started to reduce the number of its troops in Iraq following Baghdad\u2019s declaration of victory over the Islamic State group last year, an Iraqi government spokesman and Western contractors said Monday.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/05\/us-begins-reducing-troops-in-iraq-after-victory-over-isis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US begins reducing troops in Iraq after victory over ISIS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The U.S. has started to reduce the number of its troops in Iraq following Baghdad\u2019s declaration of victory over the Islamic State group last year, an Iraqi government spokesman and Western contractors said Monday.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/05\/us-begins-reducing-troops-in-iraq-after-victory-over-isis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-05T20:45:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T12:13:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Susannah George, The Associated Press, Qassim Abdul-Zahra, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Susannah George, The 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