Biden announces end to US combat mission in Iraq
Following a White House meeting today between US President Joe Biden and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the two side announced an agreement that the US combat mission in Iraq will end by Dec. 31, 2021.
US President Joe Biden on Monday announced that the US military’s role in Iraq would no longer involve combat operations by the end of the year.
“Our role in Iraq will be … just to be available to continue to train, to assist, to help and to deal with ISIS [the Islamic State] as it arises, but we’re not going to be, by the end of the year, in a combat mission,” Biden told reporters alongside Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the White House today.
The two sides released a joint statement later on Monday reaffirming the position.
“The delegations decided, following recent technical talks, that the security relationship will fully transition to a training, advising, assisting, and intelligence-sharing role, and that there will be no US forces with a combat role in Iraq by Dec. 31, 2021,” the statement read.
