![A view of US military vehicles provided to the Peshmerga forces of Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (IKRG) in Erbil, Iraq on September 08, 2021 [Karzan Mohammad / Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20210908_2_49945931_68587265-e1631444369432.jpg?fit=1199%2C800&ssl=1)
Officials in the United States’ administration of president Joe Biden have downplayed reports of an American military withdrawal from Iraq, stressing the need to maintain its presence in the region to combat threats such as Daesh.
According to the Washington Post, US State Department and Defence Department officials told reporters on Friday that Washington seeks a “sustainable security partnership” with Iraq, refusing to elaborate on or confirm recent revelations that the US military will withdraw most of its forces from the country over the next few years.
While officials did affirm that the first phase of the reported withdrawal plan is set to end the current military mission in Iraq by September 2025, one senior unnamed Biden administration official reportedly said that “this is an evolution of the military mission in Iraq”, and that the US is simply “moving towards the type of productive, long-term security relationship” that it has “with partners around the world” rather than a definitive withdrawal from the region.
READ: Iraq militia threatens to attack UAE if war with Israel breaks out
Saying that there “could very well be” changes in the number of American troops in Iraq, the official declined to elaborate, reiterating only that discussions between the US and Iraq are ongoing. They also revealed that Baghdad and Washington also have “reached an understanding” regarding the role that the approximately 900 US soldiers deployed in neighbouring Syria will continue to play, particularly in that support from the Iraqi side of the border for those troops would be maintained until at least September 2026.
Although the officials’ downplaying of the issue somewhat contradicts the hopeful revelations earlier this month regarding major withdrawal agreement, it is speculated that if Washington is indeed serious about such plans, then it is being cautious in fully revealing its military manoeuvres amid the conflict and instability currently rocking the region.
READ: US says military moves in Middle East aimed at de-escalating tensions