![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP17313535533228.jpg.jpg\")
Iraqi forces are stretched thin. Many are deployed in support of local police in liberated towns and cities and along major roadways. Others have been diverted to the borders of the Kurdish region amid the military standoff between Baghdad and Kurdish forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iraq\u2019s Popular Mobilization Forces \u2014 the mostly Shiite and largely Iranian-backed paramilitary forces \u2014 have also built up their presence along Iraq\u2019s border with Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They make no attempt to hide that they are working to physically extend the influence of U.S. rival Iran. Jaafar al-Husseini, a spokesman for the Hezbollah Brigades, a group under the PMF, boasted during the Qaim fighting that the forces are securing a route from \u201cIran to Beirut.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have foiled the American project in Iraq and on the Syrian borders, and we have succeeded in securing the road that links Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon,\u201d he told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coalition forces do not directly coordinate with the PMF, but rely on the Iraqi military to relay their movements to avoid striking the fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. Marines Maj. Greg Duesterhaus said the PMF presence complicates things but is not a great concern. \u201cThey are part of the forces that are out there on the battlefield,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The growing numbers of coalition troops are stretching the capacity of Anbar\u2019s bases. Notices warning of water shortages hang in bathrooms and showers at al-Asad. At Qaim, Marines ration water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnbar is the far reaches of Iraq,\u201d said Col. Folsom. \u201cThe challenge that we\u2019ve got here that they have not had as much up in the north is really just the tyranny of distance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daily convoys leave from al-Asad to the Qaim outpost carrying water, food, ammunition and building supplies. They travel along desert roads for a tedious seven-hour journey. Storms whip up powder-fine sand, reducing visibility and halting traffic for hours. Lack of Iraqi military escorts sometimes leaves convoys stuck for hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without electricity, cell phone service or internet, Marines at the Qaim outpost pass the evening hours smoking cigarettes and talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sitting between an armored vehicle and the rubble of a partially collapsed building, a group of Marines and soldiers joked about camp conditions and the monotony of their field rations. They also reflected on their mission in Iraq with a mix of sobriety and cynical humor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They may feel a sense of accomplishment in the gains against ISIS \u2014 \u201cbut it\u2019s not a sense of finality,\u201d one Marine staff sergeant said. He served in Anbar in 2007, unlike most of his comrades, who are on their first deployment to Iraq. He never thought he\u2019d be back, but now believes there will be a U.S. presence in Iraq for generations to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen my son joins the Marines, he\u2019ll probably be deployed to Iraq,\u201d he said with a laugh. He spoke on condition that he only be identified by his rank in line with regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Col. Folsom said he hoped within the next year Iraqi forces would be able to hold the western edge of Anbar on their own and coalition forces can fall back to al-Asad air base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have to find some sort of sustainable presence,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat that will look like, I don\u2019t know. There may still be some commuting to work in one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Sinan Salah in Baghdad contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n The US-led coalition\u2019s newest outpost in the fight against the Islamic State group is in a dusty corner of western Iraq near the border with Syria. Here, several hundred American Marines operate close to the battlefront, a key factor in the recent series of swift victories against the extremists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":92369,"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":[101,8,12,26,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1184],"class_list":["post-53970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"PWGO4GE7NNAM3ETRM3N2PNBF74","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2017\/11\/10\/as-isis-caliphate-crumbles-us-builds-outposts-in-western-iraq\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP17313535006998.jpg.jpg\")