US military forces pulled out of Iraq on Wednesday following two decades of American involvement that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians and thousands of US troops, and now leaves a battered but increasingly influential Iran at the centre of the region’s future.
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that → pull → future
The withdrawal concludes a Biden administration agreement made in 2024 to zero out US military personnel in Iraq by this year.
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withdrawal → conclude → year
Recently, there were about 1500 combined US personnel and anti-Islamic State coalition members in Iraq, a US official said, as forces consolidated and departed ahead of the September 30 deadline.
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forces → be → deadline
That mission will continue in Jordan, from where the Pentagon says it can target militants who pose a threat to US personnel and interests, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss military planning.
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official → continue → planning
The 2003 invasion triggered a significant human and financial toll that will be felt for generations.
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that → trigger → generations
As many as 210,000 Iraqi civilians were killed between the invasion and 2023, along with 4599 US service members, according to figures from Brown University’s Cost of War Project.
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civilians → kill → Project
Roughly 170,000 US troops were in the country at the height of the war in 2007, when sectarian violence spiralled out of control.
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violence → spiral → control
President Barack Obama vowed to end the unpopular conflict after he was elected in 2008.
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he → vow → 2008
He declared an end to combat operations and an eventual pullout in 2011.
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He → declare → 2011
The Islamic State, born of al-Qaeda militants and other extremists, blitzed across Iraq and Syria in 2014, prompting Obama and an international coalition to re-enter the region in a campaign that lasted into the first Trump administration.
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that → bear → administration
The decades of conflict has cost US taxpayers more than $US2.8 trillion ($4 trillion), Brown estimated, including related veterans care and operations in Syria.
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Brown → cost → Syria
Iraq emerged from the conflict with the Islamic State with a growing economy and a quasi-democracy that has been tested by religious sects in the government, particularly those with close ties to Tehran.
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that → emerge → Tehran
The US departure has been celebrated as a victory in Iran, which remains in an uneasy ceasefire with the US and Israel following months of war.
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which → celebrate → war
Iran has long taken advantage of Iraq’s destabilisation, seeding the government with friendly officials and arming militia groups that have expanded Tehran’s influence.
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that → take → influence
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliamentary Speaker, remarked on the US withdrawal last month during a diplomatic visit to Baghdad that included a visit to the site where Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US strike in 2020.
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Soleimani → remark → 2020
“The resistance front is the one prevailing now,” he said at a news conference, referring to cross-border Iranian political and military groups.
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he → prevail → groups
The fighters were organised under an umbrella group called the Popular Mobilisation Forces to confront the Islamic State.
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fighters → organise → State
They are on Iraqi military payrolls but serve as Iranian proxy forces, numbering more than 200,000, analysts have said.
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analysts → serve → 200,000
They have fielded one-way attack drones and missiles to attack US troops and other adversaries.
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They → field → troops
The September 30 departure of US forces was meant to coincide with the disarmament of those Iranian-backed militia groups, which have largely ignored or defied the calls to disband.
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which → mean → calls
The timeline for the militias to disarm has been extended to June 2027, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has said.
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Zaidi → disarm → June
Iran might be boosted by the US withdrawal, but its recent behaviour in the region had also created unlikely alliances against Tehran that challenged its power, said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
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Cancian → boost → tank
The 2003 operation that toppled Saddam Hussein threw Iraq into chaos, eliminating Tehran’s adversary on its western border, Cancian said.
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Cancian → topple → border
But its targeting of countries that house US troops during the Iran war had pushed some nations such as Saudi Arabia closer to Israel, Cancian said, creating a bulwark that was “unimaginable” decades ago.
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that → house → bulwark
“That’s a great help for the United States,” he said, “because we always had difficulty in balancing the Arabs and the Israelis.
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we → ’ → Arabs
”
US forces in Jordan will focus on Islamic State militants.
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forces → focus → militants
If the group “metastasises to something beyond [Iraq and Syria’s] control, and they want our help, then we’ll come in and help them,” the US official said.
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official → metastasise → them
Iranian-allied militias in Iraq have for years targeted Americans in the region, escalating attacks after Israel launched its devastating campaign in Gaza.
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Israel → ally → Gaza
Three US soldiers were killed in one such attack in Jordan in 2024.
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soldiers → kill → 2024
“We only went after [Iranian-backed militants] in response to attempted attacks on our people,” the US official said.
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official → go → people
But overall, contending with those groups would henceforth be an “Iraqi responsibility”.
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contending → contend → groups
Iran’s hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has recently evolved its paramilitary operations in Iraq, which may pose difficulties for Baghdad, according to a senior official in the Iraqi prime minister’s office.
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which → evolve → office
The IRGC had focused its resources in Iraq on smaller cells outside the larger militia networks to evade detection and deterrence, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security matters.
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official → focus → matters
The recent disarmament process has highlighted concerns about splinter groups.
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process → highlight → groups
The Iraqi official said, for instance, that the Iranian-backed militia group Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq turned over only about half the arsenal it was estimated to have, with its leaders saying the rest had been claimed by defectors who formed a new militia.
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who → say → militia
That new organisation received substantial Iranian support, had co-operated with Houthi allies in Yemen and was involved in recent attacks on energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the official said.
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official → receive → Arabia
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what → get → world
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