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Withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq (2020–2021)

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Withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq
Part of the American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present), the 2019–2020 Persian Gulf crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq

CJTF-OIR transfer of Qayyarah Airfield West to Iraqi security forces, March 2020.
Date20 March 2020 – present
Location
Iraq
Template:Campaignbox 2019–20 Persian Gulf crisis

In December 2019, Iraq and the United States began discussing the partial withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq. In January 2020, during massive protests[1] and following an escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran, the Iraqi Council of Representatives passed a non-binding measure to "expel all foreign troops from their country," including American and Iranian troops. Following the vote, U.S. President Donald Trump initially refused to withdraw from Iraq.

In March 2020, the American-led coalition began the transfer of bases back to Iraqi security forces, citing developments in the multi-year mission against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). As of April 4, 2020, four bases have been transferred. The base transfers and withdrawal were accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq and the threat of Iranian proxies.

Background

Further information: International military intervention against ISIL and 2019–2020 Persian Gulf crisis
Iraq denounced the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani by the United States as a violation of its sovereignty.

The United States completed its withdrawal of troops in December 2011, concluding the Iraq War.[2] In June 2014, the United States formed Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) and re-intervened at the request of the Iraqi government due to the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[3] Iran also intervened in Iraq in June 2014. On December 9, 2017, Iraq declared victory against ISIL, concluding the 2014–2017 Iraqi Civil War.[4]

In May 2019, four merchant ships were attacked by limpet mines in the Gulf of Oman.[5] Tensions rose between the United States and Iran, after the United States blamed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for the incident.[5] In June 2019, a nearly-identical incident occurred involving two merchant ships.[5] In December 2019, the United States began discussing with Iraq about plans to withdraw from certain bases.[6] That same month, the K-1 Air Base was attacked, resulting in one American fatality and six injuries.[5] The United States claimed that Kata'ib Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group, was responsible for the attack.[5] The United States responded by conducting airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Kata'ib Hezbollah locations.[5]

On December 31, 2019 through January 1, 2020, the United States Embassy in Baghdad was attacked in response to the airstrikes.[5] On January 3, 2020, the United States conducted an airstrike that killed Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani and Kata'ib Hezbollah commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.[5] Iraq protested that the airstrike violated their sovereignty.[7] On January 5, 2020, the Iraqi Council of Representatives voted to obligate Iraq's government "to work towards ending the presence of all foreign troops on Iraqi soil."[8] U.S. President Donald Trump responded to the resolution by threatening to impose sanctions against Iraq.[9]

Withdrawal

January 2020: Non-binding Iraqi vote for troop withdrawal

If they do ask us to leave, if we don’t do it in a very friendly basis, we will charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before ever. It'll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame.

U.S. President Donald Trump, January 3, 2020[9]

On January 5, 2020, Iraqi Parliament voted to obligate Iraq's government "to work towards ending the presence of all foreign troops on Iraqi soil."[8] It was unclear if the resolution was binding and no timetable for withdrawal was set.[3] Qais Khazali, leader of Iranian proxy group Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, stated "If [US troops] don't leave, then they will be considered occupation forces."[3] Trump threatened to impose sanctions on Iraq in response to the vote.[9] According to a letter sent by a senior U.S. commander to Iraqi officials on January 6, 2020, "the United States may be preparing to withdraw its troops",[10] but after a while Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley, announced that it was a draft sent by "honest mistake."[11]

On January 8, 2020, Iran launched "Operation Martyr Soleimani", conducting missile strikes against U.S. troops stationed in Iraq.[10] 110 U.S. military personnel suffered from traumatic brain injuries.[12] The United States responded by insisting that its troops would stay in Iraq.[10] Speaking on the withdrawal, Trump stated "At some point, we want to get out. But this isn’t the right point."[10] Two days later, Abdul-Mahdi reiterated that all foreign troops must withdraw from Iraq, including Iran.[13] On January 24, 2020, Iraqi demonstrators marched to demand that the U.S. withdraw its troops.[14] Due to security concerns, some NATO countries including Canada, Germany, Croatia and Slovakia have declared that they are taking troops out of Iraq, at least temporarily.[15]

March – April 2020: Base transfers and COVID-19 pandemic

See also: COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq
2nd Battalion, 7th Marines packing up gear to withdraw from Al-Taqaddum Air Base.

On March 11 and March 14, 2020, Camp Taji was attacked, supposedly by Kata'ib Hezbollah, killing three Coalition personnel.[16] The United States responded to the first attack on Camp Taji by targeting five Kata'ib Hezbollah weapon storage facilities with air strikes.[17] On March 19, 2020, the al-Qaim base near the Iraq–Syria border was transferred from the coalition to Iraqi security forces.[18] Iraqi major general Tahsin Khafaji stated "This is the first step of US troops withdrawing from Iraq."[18] On March 20, 2020, CJTF-OIR confirmed that certain troops would be withdrawing from Iraq due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] On that same day, United States Central Command ordered a 14-day "stop movement" preventing any U.S. troops from entering or leaving Iraq and Afghanistan because of the pandemic.[20]

The U.S. Army left the Qayyarah Airfield West on March 26, 2020.[21] The third base, K-1 Air Base, to be transferred by the United States was near Kirkuk.[22] On April 4, 2020, the coalition transferred the Al-Taqaddum Air Base, making it the fourth base to be transferred to Iraqi forces.[22] ISIL has planned to take advantage of the vacuum in the Syrian Desert caused by the coronavirus-expedited withdrawal of U.S. troops.[23] In an April 2020 news release, CJTF-OIR reiterated that the base transfers were pre-planned and "are not related to recent attacks against Iraqi bases hosting Coalition troops, or the ongoing COVID-19 situation in Iraq."[22] However, an inspector general report released in May 2020 admitted that though the base transfers were planned ahead of time, they were accelerated due to the threat of Iranian proxies and the pandemic.[24]

May 2020 – present: American–Iraqi security dialogue

By June 2020, the Iraqi government had yet to act on the January parliamentary resolution to call the departure of foreign troops, and the Iraqi military was reportedly reluctant to have U.S. forces leave altogether.[25] On June 1, 2020, Spain announced its intentions to withdraw from its primary base in Iraq by the end of July.[26] The United States and Iraq scheduled new negotiations regarding military, political, and economic cooperation for June.[27] Security dialogue between the two countries last occurred in 2018.[25] On June 9, 2020, prior to the start of the dialogue, a rocket attack against U.S. troops in Baghdad International Airport concluded with no injuries.[28] The Iraqi-U.S. negotiations began on June 11 and are to be conducted virtually and expected to continue for months.[25] The negotiations began amid continued tensions with Iran and a resurgence of ISIL attacks. According to The New York Times, the ISIL insurgency began to intensify by mid-2020, partially due to Iraqi security forces diverting resources to enforce curfews and lock downs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25]

References

  1. ^ "Hundreds of thousands protest US troop presence in Iraq". CNN.
  2. ^ "US troops complete their withdrawal from Iraq". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Tamara Qiblawi; Jomana Karadsheh; Arwa Damon (January 6, 2020). "Iraq has voted to expel US troops. Whether they'll actually be kicked out is far from clear". CNN. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  4. ^ Nehal Mostafa (December 9, 2017). "Iraq announces end of war against IS, liberation of borders with Syria: Abadi". Iraqi News. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "The US-Iran conflict: A timeline of how we got here". CNN. January 11, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  6. ^ Chad Garland (March 18, 2020). "US reduces footprint in Iraq with transfer of base used to fight ISIS". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  7. ^ Falih Hassan; Tim Arango; Alissa J. Rubin (January 3, 2020). "A Shocked Iraq Reconsiders Its Relationship With the U.S." New York Times. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Eric Levenson; Fred Pleitgen; Schams Elwazer; Amir Vera (January 5, 2020). "Iraqi Parliament votes for plan to end US troop presence in Iraq after Soleimani killing". CNN. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Joanna Tan (January 5, 2020). "Trump threatens to slap sanctions on Iraq 'like they've never seen before'". CNBC. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d Dan Lamothe; Mustafa Salim; Liz Sly (January 7, 2020). "Trump administration insists U.S. troops will remain in Iraq". Washington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  11. ^ Zachary Cohen; Barbara Starr; Ryan Browne (January 6, 2020). "Top general says letter suggesting US would withdraw troops from Iraq was a 'mistake'". CNN. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  12. ^ "Number of US troops wounded in Iran attack now at 110: Pentagon". ABS News. February 22, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  13. ^ Tom O'Connor; James LaPorta (January 9, 2020). "Iraq Wants Both the U.S. and Iran's Forces Out of the Country". Newsweek. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  14. ^ Louisa Loveluck (January 24, 2020). "Iraqi demonstrators demand withdrawal of U.S. troops". Washington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  15. ^ Ron DePasquale (January 7, 2020). "Some NATO Troops Begin Leaving Iraq". New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  16. ^ "Iraq base attack: Coalition and Iraqi troops hurt as Taji targeted again". BBC. March 14, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  17. ^ "US strikes Kataib Hezbollah militia across Iraq in retaliation for Taji rocket attack". The Defense Post. March 13, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  18. ^ a b Lawk Ghafuri (March 19, 2020). "Iraq military: US handover of al-Qaim base is 'first step of withdrawal'". Rudaw. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  19. ^ Rebecca Kheel (March 20, 2020). "US-led coalition in Iraq drawing down over coronavirus concerns". The Hill. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  20. ^ "Coronavirus Halts Military Travel In and Out of Iraq and Afghanistan". Defense One. March 20, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  21. ^ "US transfers Q-West airfield to Iraqi forces citing progress in fight against ISIS". Military Times. March 29, 2020.
  22. ^ a b c Shawn Snow (April 4, 2020). "US hands over another air base to Iraqi forces". Military Times. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  23. ^ Pesha Magid (April 6, 2020). "Islamic State Aims for Comeback Amid Virus-Expedited U.S. Withdrawal". Foreign Policy. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  24. ^ Shawn Snow (May 14, 2020). "Tensions with Iran and its proxies led to accelerated transfer of bases housing coalition troops to Iraqi forces". Military Times. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  25. ^ a b c d https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/10/world/middleeast/iraq-isis-strategic-dialogue-troops.html
  26. ^ Miguel González (June 1, 2020). "Spain to withdraw troops from main Iraqi base this summer". El País. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  27. ^ Simona Foltyn (May 29, 2020). "How Tensions Between the U.S. and Iran Ended Up Strengthening ISIS". Foreign Policy. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  28. ^ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/rocket-hits-baghdad-airport-attack-forces-200609074949755.html
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