Iraq Turns the Page on 20 Years of US Military Presence

The US military is preparing to withdraw today, Wednesday, September 30, from the last bases it still occupied in Iraq.

This withdrawal, decided by Joe Biden in 2024, comes amid the Israeli-American war that erupted last February against Iran.

Iraq turns the page on 20 years of American presence on its soil; today the US army leaves the last bases where it was stationed inside the country it occupied for eight years and lost 4,500 soldiers since setting foot on its land in 2003 - initially to topple Saddam Hussein, then to fight ISIS at the head of an international coalition.

This withdrawal - decided by President Joe Biden in 2024 - is the fruit of an agreement signed between Baghdad and Washington, which also included a clause stipulating the disarmament of armed militias loyal to Iran; a step promised by new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi to be implemented... by June 2027.

Ali Al-Zaidi's government, who took office this year with American blessing and pledged state monopoly over weapons held by pro-Iran factions, believes that the coalition's departure removes a main justification relied upon by these groups to keep their arms.

Al-Zaidi announced the celebration of "Sovereignty Day" on the day following the end of the coalition mission.

On Monday, Al-Zaidi, along with President Nizar Amidi, Parliament Speaker Hebat Al-Halbousi, and Chief Justice Faiq Zidan, considered that "Sovereignty Day" would be "a national occasion confirming the completion of the Iraqi sovereignty path and consolidating the presence of the state and its institutions."

They affirmed the necessity of "addressing the issue of weapons existing outside state authority within constitutional and legal frameworks, and in line with timelines set by the government."