{"id":63308,"date":"2022-03-18T18:13:24","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T18:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/03\/18\/us-troops-will-likely-be-in-iraq-for-years-to-come-central-command-boss-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:52:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:52:49","slug":"us-troops-will-likely-be-in-iraq-for-years-to-come-central-command-boss-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/03\/18\/us-troops-will-likely-be-in-iraq-for-years-to-come-central-command-boss-says\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. troops will likely be in Iraq for years to come, Central Command boss says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

About six months after the U.S. ended its longest war, the outgoing head of U.S. Central Command<\/a> hinted that U.S. involvement in Iraq is probably going to go on even longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the 19th anniversary of Operation Iraq Freedom <\/a>approaches, there are roughly 2,500 troops still in Iraq<\/a>, playing a strict advise-and-assist role at the invitation of the Iraqi government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs we look into the future, any force level adjustment in Iraq is going to be made as a result of consultations with the government of Iraq,\u201d Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie<\/a> told Military Times on Friday. \u201cAnd we just finished a strategic dialogue a few months ago \u2015 we believe that will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result of that dialogue was a formal end to the U.S. combat mission there at the end of 2021, though the thousands of troops who have been rotating into the country since 2014 as part of Operation Inherent Resolve haven\u2019t led combat operations for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going forward, McKenzie said, the role will look a lot like it does now, as the Iraqi government comes together to make another go at strengthening the defense of its sovereignty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo we\u2019re watching that with great interest and wish them well, despite the many roadblocks that are being thrown up by Iranian-based proxy groups,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re proceeding, you know, maybe not the way we would do it. Maybe slower than the way we would do it. But nonetheless, that moving forward in the long term, we would like to have a normalized security cooperation agreement and posture with Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That could look like continued training of local forces, advising military leadership and providing weapons to Iraq to help its security forces remain effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou want to get to the state where nations, and security elements in those nations, can deal with a violent extremist threat without direct support from us,\u201d McKenzie said. \u201cRight now we have the Iraqis doing the fighting. We\u2019re still helping them. Over time you\u2019d like for them to take a larger share of all the enabling that we\u2019re doing now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If this sounds a lot like what U.S. military leaders said for the better part of a decade in Afghanistan, after the U.S. combat mission ended in 2014, that\u2019s because the goals are identical. Commanders consistently touted progress in wresting control of the country from the Taliban, though in reality, Afghanistan\u2019s defense forces remained dysfunctional.<\/p>\n\n\n\t