After a series of talks between Iraq and the United States, the two parties agreed during Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi's visit to the United States to end the presence of US combat forces in Iraq by Dec. 31, 2021, at which time “the security relationship will fully transition to a training, advising, assisting, and intelligence-sharing role,” according to the July 26 joint statement on the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue.
Upon his return to Baghdad from Washington, Kadhimi was welcomed by various political and security figures — including the head of Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Falih Fayyadh — in a sign that the results of the strategic dialogue between Iraq and the United States have been widely accepted by different Iraqi groups.
