WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty years after the U.S. invaded Iraq — in blinding bursts of shock and awe — American forces remain in the country in a small but enduring presence, maintaining an ongoing relationship with a key military and diplomatic partner in the United States Country ensure Middle East.
The approximately 2,500 US troops are scattered across the country, mostly in military installations in Baghdad and in the north. And while it’s a far cry from the more than 170,000 US forces in Iraq at the height of the war in 2007, US officials say the limited – but continued – troop levels are being used as a sign of commitment to the region and as a safeguard against it of crucial importance is Iranian influence and arms trade.
A look at America’s evolving role in Iraq:
HOW DID IT BEGIN?
The US invaded Iraq in March 2003 in what it described as a massive “shock and awe” bombing campaign that lit up the skies, devastated much of the country and cleared the way for American ground forces to approach Baghdad. The invasion was based on allegedly flawed claims that Saddam Hussein was secretly hiding weapons of mass destruction. Such weapons never materialized.
Saddam was ousted from power, and the American war shifted the country’s governmental base from a minority Arab Sunni to a majority Shia, with the Kurds gaining their own autonomous region. While many Iraqis welcomed the fall of Saddam Hussein, they were disappointed when the government failed to restore basic services and the ongoing fighting instead brought enormous humanitarian suffering.
Resentment and power struggles between Shiites and Sunnis fueled the civil war that eventually led to America’s complete withdrawal in December 2011. The split was a key factor in the collapse of the country’s police and military forces in the face of the Islamic State insurgency that swept across Iraq and Syria in 2014.
THE USA RETURNS
The rise of the Islamic State group – its roots lay in Al Qaeda offshoots – and its increasing threat to the US and its allies across Europe led the US back to Iraq in 2014 at the invitation of the Baghdad government. That summer and fall, the US-led coalition launched airstrikes in Iraq and then Syria, relaunching extensive efforts to train and advise the Iraqi military.
The coalition’s training and advisory mission continued, supported by a NATO contingent, even after the Islamic State group’s campaign to create a caliphate ended in March 2019.
The approximately 2,500 soldiers stationed in Iraq live on joint bases with Iraqi troops, where they provide training and equipment. That troop strength varies a bit, however, and the Pentagon doesn’t disclose the number of U.S. special forces that routinely travel in and out of the country to assist Iraqi forces or travel to Syria for counter-terrorism operations.
“Iraq is still under pressure from ISIS,” said retired Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie, who headed US Central Command and served as the top US commander for the Middle East from 2019 to 2022. “We are still helping them to continue this fight. We have done a lot to help them improve control over their own sovereignty, which is very important to Iraqis.”
WHY THE US PRESENCE REMAINS
The much-cited reason for the continued presence of US troops is to help Iraq fight the remnants of the Islamic State insurgency and prevent a resurgence.
But a key reason is Iran.
The political influence and strength of Iran’s militias in Iraq and throughout the region has been a recurring security concern for the US over the years. And the presence of American forces in Iraq makes it difficult for Iran to ship arms through Iraq and Syria to Lebanon for use by its proxies, including Lebanese Hezbollah, against Israel.
The same is true of the US troop presence around the al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria, which sits on a key road that can connect Iranian-backed forces from Tehran to southern Lebanon — and Israel’s doorstep. In both Iraq and Syria, US troops are disrupting a potentially undisputed land bridge for Iran to the eastern Mediterranean.
US troops in Iraq are also providing vital logistical and other support to American forces in Syria working with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces fighting the Islamic State group. The US conducts airstrikes and other missions against ISIS leaders and also assists the SDF in guarding thousands of captured ISIS fighters and family members detained in Syria.
Military leaders successfully repelled then-President Donald Trump’s efforts to withdraw all troops from Syria and Iraq. They argued that if anything happened in Syria that threatened US forces, they needed to be able to quickly send troops, equipment and other support out of Iraq.
On a recent visit to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi leaders, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said US forces were prepared to remain in Iraq in a non-combat role at the government’s invitation.
“We are deeply committed to ensuring that the Iraqi people can live in peace and dignity, with security and with economic opportunity for all,” he said.
IRAQ IN NUMBERS
When Washington withdrew its last combat troops in December 2011, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians were dead along with 4,487 American soldiers.
Between 2003 and 2011, more than 3,500 soldiers were killed in enemy action and almost 1,000 died outside of combat. More than 32,000 soldiers were wounded in action; Tens of thousands more have reported to the Department of Veterans Affairs illnesses believed to be linked to toxic pollution from Iraq’s burn pits. Legislation signed by the Biden administration has increased the number of veterans eligible for lifetime care or benefits as a result of this exposure.
From 2003 to 2012, the United States provided $60.64 billion to fund Iraqi security forces and civilian reconstruction, according to the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Of that, $20 billion was used to fund, equip, provide uniforms and train Iraqi security forces.
According to the Congressional Research Service, from 2007 to 2010 about 100,000 contractors in Iraq assisted the US forces and mission annually. About 6,500 contractors were supporting US operations in Iraq and Syria at the end of last year, according to US Central Command.