Joy and fear in Iraq as last US forces leave

BAGHDAD: Iraqis celebrated the departure of US forces after more than two decades of war on Wednesday, though many were worried that a security vacuum could increase the power of armed groups or provide an opening for the return of IS.
The withdrawal of the final troops, mainly from an airbase in Erbil in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, ended the biggest US war of the century, which brought widespread devastation and chaos from which Iraq has yet to fully emerge. Tehran and its allies hailed the withdrawal as a victory in their campaign to drive US forces from the Middle East. Iraqi troops paraded in vehicles through the streets of Baghdad and the city of Najaf to mark the pullout.
The withdrawal 'fills our hearts with joy,' said Baghdad resident Ahmed Salah, who said he felt reborn at the age of 70. But he also said it was now time for powerful armed groups to surrender their weapons, 'and let the government be the one responsible to protect me and you on the ground, sky and water.'
The pullout was agreed in 2024 under President Joe Biden and carried out by Donald Trump's administration even as it wages war against Iran next door. US forces invaded to topple former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in 2003, triggering years of upheaval and chaos. The Americans initially left at the end of 2011 but came back less than three years later to assist Iraqi forces after IS fighters seized a third of Iraq.
More than 4,500 US troops died in Iraq, around twice as many as in the parallel war in Afghanistan. The Iraq Body Count project says more than 200,000 Iraqi civilians were killed. The Pentagon said the United States and its coalition partners formally concluded 'Operation Inherent Resolve' and Washington would continue to provide targeted training and intelligence support to Iraqi partners.
'The end of the international coalition's mission does not mean the end of our battle against terrorism, but rather Iraq's transition to a phase in which it assumes full responsibility for its security and stability,' said Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi in a statement.
SECURITY VACUUM
While the departure of US forces is broadly popular among Iraqis, some worry that security forces trained and funded by the United States still can't protect the country. 'The lesson from the past two decades is that security vacuums can be extremely dangerous,' said Jassim al Bahadli, an Iraqi analyst who advises the security forces.
Some Iraqi security officials, both in the federal government and the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, say the US pullout also risks giving new life to IS fighters, who, despite the defeat of their self-proclaimed caliphate nearly a decade ago, retain a sleeper cell network.
'The most important question now is whether Iraq's security institutions have prepared a viable Plan B for the post-coalition phase,' said retired Iraqi Army General Mohammed al Jubouri, who led a brigade in the war against IS. 'One of the worst-case scenarios would be IS obtaining armed drones or improvised explosive drones at a time when Iraq still lacks sufficient air defence capabilities to counter such threats effectively.' — Reuters