Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi Sign Military Agreement

U.S. President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi have signed an agreement regarding the end of the U.S. military presence in Iraq, according to Al Jazeera. Under this agreement, American forces will withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2021 after an 18-year presence.

The two leaders signed the agreement during their first in-person meeting, which occurred within the framework of U.S.-Iraq strategic dialogue. Biden stated in a conversation with reporters that U.S. forces will remain in Iraq to continue training and assisting in overcoming challenges posed by the Islamic State terrorist group. However, by the end of the year, the U.S. will halt its participation in ongoing combat operations.

Currently, there are approximately 2,500 American soldiers in Iraq, focused on eliminating the remnants of the Islamic State. U.S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003 under the accusation that then-leader Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. In recent years, however, the U.S. military mission has focused on providing support in fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria, as well as training Iraqi forces.

“No one is planning to declare the end of the mission; the goal is the stable destruction of the Islamic State,” said the Iraqi Prime Minister. It is known that the current Iraqi Prime Minister is a friend of the United States, yet recently, the operations of U.S. air forces near the Syrian border have faced criticism from Iraq.