Pentagon plans to shrink US ‘footprint’ in Iraq, but declines to say by how much

The Pentagon has finalized plans to wrap up the U.S.-led mission to fight ISIS by next year, with many U.S. troops leaving the bases they have occupied for much of the past two decades. 

The Biden administration insists their plan is not to fully pull out of the nation but declined to say how many of the 2,500 troops currently stationed in Iraq will remain. 

“I think it’s fair to say that, you know, our footprint is going to be changing within the country,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Friday.

The Iraqi government announced earlier this month it had reached a deal with the Biden administration to remove most U.S. troops from its nation over the next two years. 

Some 2,500 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Iraq. (Ayman Henna)

U.S. officials disputed characterizations of the plan as a withdrawal, prompting confusion about what the American presence there would look like over the coming months. 

“I’d like to emphasize that this is an evolution of the military mission in Iraq,” a senior Biden administration official said. 

The current mission is now set to end by September 2025. 

The notion of pulling troops out of Iraq has prompted concerns about a lack of support for the 900 troops currently stationed in Syria. 

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“Not only will it undercut the fight against ISIS, but more importantly, in the effort to restrain Iran, forces in Iraq — particularly in the Kurdish north — are very important. We need Iraq forces in order to support our troops in northeast Syria,” Ambassador James Jeffrey, former presidential envoy to the coalition to combat ISIS in Iraq, told Fox News Digital. 

“We have a very effective ally there, the Kurds, the Syrian Kurds, that we want to not abandon,” he went on, adding that a U.S. withdrawal would allow space for Russia and Iran to tighten their grip on the nation. 

“​​At the end of the day, it’s a decision of the Iraqi Government, and if the Iraqi government is being pressured by the Iranians, just as they were in 2011, and want us out, then we have no choice.”

U.S. Army soldiers train at al-Asad air base in western Iraq. (Source: U.S. Army )

Tehran and its influence have infiltrated the Iraqi government in a way that some say means a U.S. presence indirectly benefits Iran. 

“With the current Iraqi government heavily influenced by Iranian-backed Shia factions, including the Popular Mobilization Front, maintaining U.S. troops doesn’t effectively counterbalance Iran. In fact, our resources end up indirectly benefiting those aligned with Iranian interests, making this a misguided strategy,” director of Concerned Veterans for America and Iraq War veteran Jason Beardsley told Fox News Digital.

“ISIS may be a challenge, but it’s a challenge that the government of Iraq should be handling themselves.”

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Baghdad and Washington have “reached an understanding” that U.S. forces in Syria will be supported from a presence on the Iraqi side of the border through at least September 2026. 

U.S. Central Command announced over the weekend that forces in Syria had conducted two targeted strikes in Syria that killed 37 terrorists, including leaders of ISIS and Huras al-Din, an al Qaeda affiliate. 

Service members supporting Operation Inherent Resolve stand in formation and salute the United States flag during a Memorial Day ceremony at Union III in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 27, 2024. (U.S. Army)

U.S. forces in Iraq, Syria and Jordan have come under increased attacks since the eruption of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza nearly a year ago. 

Three U.S. troops were killed by a drone attack in January at a U.S. base in Jordan supporting operations in Syria. 

American forces have responded with periodic airstrikes in response, such as in July near Baghdad, which have drawn sharp rebuke from the Iraqi public. 

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Last month, seven U.S. troops were wounded in an operation to target ISIS in western Iraq. 

At the same time, troops are planning to depart Iraq, elsewhere in the Middle East the U.S. military presence is growing. U.S. officials announced Monday a “few thousand” more troops would be added to the roughly 40,000 service members deployed in the region.