Biden Formally Ends US Combat Mission in Iraq
Summary from the AllSides News Team
President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi announced an agreement on Monday to formally end the U.S. combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year. “I think things are going well. Our role in Iraq will be...to be available to continue to train, to assist, to help, and to deal with ISIS -- as it arrives. But we're not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission,” Biden said. Little will change on the ground, however, as the roughly 2,500 remaining U.S. troops in Iraq no longer regularly engage in combat and are likely to continue supporting Iraqi forces in an advisory capacity.
Coverage was mostly similar across the spectrum, with several outlets calling the change “symbolic” and discussing the start of the Iraq War in 2003. Coverage in some left-rated outlets focused more on how the announcement was influenced by Iraqi domestic politics. Coverage in some right-rated outlets mentioned that former President Donald Trump lowered the number of U.S. troops in Iraq from 3,000 to 2,500.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Biden says U.S. will end its combat mission in Iraq as its prime minister visits the White House.President Biden said on Monday that the United States would end its combat mission in Iraq by the end of the year, shifting fully to an advisory and training role as America dials down its involvement in long-term conflicts in the Middle East.
“We’re not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat zone,” Mr. Biden said as he met with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi of Iraq at the White House Monday.
The agreement to end the combat mission is largely symbolic, since U.S. troops no...
From the Right
Biden hosts Iraqi PM at White House to talk end of US combat missionPresident Biden on Monday hosted Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the White House to announce a planned end to the US military’s combat mission in Iraq.
The largely symbolic announcement means US troops will transfer most combat duties to Iraq’s military this year. But unlike in Afghanistan, Biden will keep a large US military footprint in Iraq.
Biden stressed that US troops aren’t leaving Iraq entirely — as happened in 2011, setting the stage for the Islamic State group to seize a third of the country, resulting in a US...
From the Center
US Will End Combat Mission In Iraq, Biden SaysThe United States is ending its combat mission in Iraq, President Joe Biden announced Monday, though U.S. troops will remain in the country to continue training and advising local forces.
“Our role in Iraq will be...to be available to continue to train, to assist to help and to deal with ISIS as it arises, but we are not going to be by the end of the year in a combat mission,” Biden said at the beginning of a meeting in the Oval Office with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.
Biden...
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