US to reduce troop levels in Iraq

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will reduce the number of American troops in Iraq by more than a third this month, to 3,000, as the U.S. military seeks to leave the battle against Islamic State militants to local forces.

Speaking during a ceremony in Baghdad to mark change of command for U.S. and coalition forces, Gen. Kenneth Frank McKenzie, head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, said the improving capability of Iraqi security forces had made it possible to reduce an earlier level of more than 5,000.

“This reduced footprint allows us to continue advising and assisting our Iraqi partners in rooting out the final remnants of ISIS in Iraq and ensuring its enduring defeat,” he said, referring to the militant group that once controlled vast areas of Syria and Iraq.

“The U.S. decision is a clear demonstration of our continued commitment to the ultimate goal, which is an Iraqi Security Force that is capable of preventing an ISIS resurgence and of securing Iraq’s sovereignty without external assistance,” he said.

The announcement marks another milestone for the U.S. military involvement in Iraq, which included as many as 170,000 troops in the years after the 2003 invasion and toppling of Saddam Hussein, and as few as several hundred after 2011, when the Obama administration hoped to end costly insurgent wars across the region.

In 2014, the Pentagon poured in thousands of troops once more, after much of the Iraqi army collapsed as Islamic State militants advanced. Since then, U.S. and partner forces have used Baghdad as a seat for overseeing a massive air and ground operation aiming at defeating the extremist group across Iraq and Syria.

Although a shadow of its former self, the Islamic State group still poses a threat in Iraq. Militants hide in rugged territory, sustaining small-scale operations through bribery and extortion in rural communities nearby.

The new reduction provides the White House an opportunity to point to progress toward President Donald Trump’s long-delayed goal of removing troops from the Middle East.

“Look, this . . . president, when he says I’m going to end endless wars, it’s not a slogan like it’s been for Democrats and past presidents. It is an actual truth,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox News on Wednesday.

But the U.S. military presence remains robust across the Middle East — and in some places, including Saudi Arabia, is larger than it was when Trump took office — as his administration juggles his desire to bring troops home and hard-line stance against Iran.

Later Wednesday, McKenzie said in an interview with three media outlets that the U.S. military will also reduce the number in troops in Afghanistan from 8,600 to about 4,500 by early November.

“At 4,500 we’re still going to be able to accomplish the core task that we want to accomplish, and we’ve shown more than ample goodwill in our willingness to demonstrate that we don’t want to be an occupying force in this country, but we do have strategic interests, vital interests, that compel us to be certain that these entities such as al-Qaida and ISIS can’t be guests there to attack the United States,” McKenzie said after making the Iraq announcement, Voice of America reported.

The president has repeatedly expressed a desire to remove troops from Syria and Afghanistan, he has appeared less concerned about Iraq, where some officials see U.S. forces as a bulwark against increased Iranian influence. Iraq has been the site of repeated attacks by Iranian-backed militias on U.S. military and diplomatic facilities.

Tensions sky-rocketed in January when a U.S. drone killed a senior Iranian military leader, Qasem Soleimani, near Baghdad’s airport. In response, Iran fired a barrage of missiles at a base in western Iran, resulting in varying degrees of brain injuries among dozens of U.S. service members.

In recent months, U.S. forces have been consolidating into larger bases across Iraq in preparation for an expected drawdown.