The last American troops have left Iraq, closing a military chapter that began with the 2003 invasion and stretched across nearly an entire generation.
U.S. Central Command confirmed Wednesday that the departure of American forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base was complete. The 12-year Operation Inherent Resolve mission inside Iraq is officially over.
U.S. Central Command said the orderly exit from Erbil marked a planned transition from the coalition mission to a bilateral defense relationship between Washington and Baghdad. American and coalition personnel had begun leaving federal Iraq last October, with the removal of personnel and equipment from Erbil completing the process.
Erbil served as the main operational hub for the coalition and hosted most of the roughly 1,500 American and allied forces supporting counter-ISIS operations. The command credited tens of thousands of service members, diplomats, and civilian personnel who served during the campaign.
CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said ISIS no longer poses a systemic threat to Iraq’s national security.
He also said Iraqi forces, including the Peshmerga in the Kurdish region, now have the leadership and operational independence to handle threats to their country.
The mission continues from Jordan, and American forces across the region remain prepared to respond if ISIS rebuilds. Responsibility for security inside Iraq, however, now rests primarily with the Iraqi government and its own forces.
That is a consequential handoff after years of combat, training, advising, air operations, political turmoil, and sacrifice. More than 4,500 Americans died in the Iraq conflict, and many thousands more came home carrying wounds that never appeared on a battlefield map.
The Associated Press reported that the final contingent consisted of several hundred troops based in Iraq’s Kurdish north. Their departure completes an agreement negotiated in 2024 and carried out under President Trump’s administration.
The timeline contains an important distinction. The 2003 invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, but American forces later left in 2011 before returning in 2014 after ISIS seized vast territory and threatened to erase the Iraqi state.
Operation Inherent Resolve was built to help local forces break that caliphate. ISIS lost its territorial grip, yet scattered cells and ideological networks remain capable of exploiting weak borders, sectarian conflict, and any collapse in local security.
For President Trump, completing the withdrawal demonstrates a willingness to end an open-ended deployment without pretending the region has become harmless. The United States retains forces and strike capability elsewhere in the Middle East, giving commanders options without maintaining the old footprint inside Iraq.
Iran and its proxies are already trying to write their own version of the ending. They want the world to see every departing American aircraft as proof that pressure, militias, and patience can push the United States out.
Reuters detailed the forces waiting to exploit the vacuum, from Iranian-backed militias seeking greater power in Baghdad to ISIS remnants looking for room to reorganize. Tehran celebrated the departure while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps openly injected itself into American politics by urging voters to defeat President Trump’s congressional allies.
That interference strips away any illusion about Iran’s ambitions. Its leaders are interested in shaping Iraq, intimidating the United States, and expanding a network of armed proxies that answers to Tehran rather than to the elected governments where those groups operate.
The final American military death in Iraq came in July, a reminder that even a shrinking deployment carried lethal consequences into its closing months.
Iraq’s own prime minister has said armed groups outside state control must disarm as foreign troops leave. Whether Baghdad can enforce that promise will help determine if the withdrawal becomes a durable transfer of sovereignty or an invitation for Iran’s militias to fill the space.
America should honor the men and women who served by judging the next phase honestly. Bringing troops home can be the right decision while vigilance, intelligence, regional deterrence, and the ability to strike a resurgent ISIS remain essential.
A 23-year military era has ended, but history will measure the exit by what follows it. President Trump has closed the base mission; Iran, ISIS, and Iraq’s leaders will now reveal whether they understood the warning that American departure does not mean American blindness.
The post The Last U.S. Troops Have Left Iraq — Ending A 23-Year American Military Era appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.
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