Iraq and the United States confirm their commitment to reducing American Troops.

Iraqi Prime Minster Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Reuters. 

Iraq and the United States have confirmed their commitment to reducing the number of American and coalition troops in the country. Reuters. The United States still has 5000 troops in Iraq, along with 2500 coalition troops. Those troops had a primary mission of fighting ISIS, but the terror group has largely been defeated in Iraq and Iraq's military has advanced enough that they can stand on their own against the terror group. Iraq's Parliament had voted for a withdrawal of foreign troops in the country and the United States has confirmed they do not desire permanent bases in the country. 

My Comment:

My feeling is that most Americans are barely aware that there are still troops in Iraq. They haven't done too much recently as the article mentions, ISIS has been defeated. They don't have much reason to still be in the country so it's about time we started to pull them out. 

The rate of which we do so is up in the air. Withdrawals are not something that can go fast unless there is a very good reason to do so. And I think the Pentagon is dragging their feet for some pretty obvious reasons. 

Why wouldn't the Pentagon not want to withdraw? I think it has a lot to do with Iran. Those 5000 troops are a deterrent to Iran who has been pretty frisky as of late. They want to keep those troops there no matter what, and they will only reluctantly follow the wishes of President Trump and the Iraqi people. 

I don't think it's too early to pull troops out. ISIS hasn't been a major threat in quite some time. They don't hold any territory right now and have been mostly wiped out in Syria as well. And even though they have regrouped to an extent, I think the Iraqi military can handle them. And if they can't? Well we can always send in airstrikes and advisors at a later date. 

I also don't think we really need troops in Iraq to deter Iran. We have troops throughout the region, plus our massive naval fleet to deter Iran. We have done a good job at containing them and they have less of an ability to strike outside of their immediate region. 

Finally, I think it is about time we started withdrawing from these countries. Our adventures in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria have cost us trillions of dollars and thousands of lives and we have very little to show for it. It's time to stop throwing good money after bad and cut our losses. There is no shame in an honorable withdrawal...