The United States is completing its full military withdrawal from Iraq today, September 30, 2026.

The total pullout of the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops was scheduled for completion by September 30, 2026, concluding a 23-year military presence that originally began with the 2003 invasion.

The State Department stated that Iraqi security forces, "including Kurdish Peshmerga," have demonstrated "increased capabilities," and that the withdrawal of US troops "is a sign that Iraq and the United States have turned an important page in our bilateral relationship."

However, the Kurds have criticized this decision. Masrour Barzani, the leader of the Kurds in northern Iraq, stated that Washington is abandoning its allies without protection in the face of Iranian attacks.

"The threat is real – we are vulnerable, we are being attacked. To be left alone now without any, shall we say, proper defense system is shameful," Barzani said.

The government of the Kurdistan Region has no air defense systems of its own, and they are not being sold such weapons.

He noted that further instability, especially at a time when influential Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militias are refusing to lay down their arms, could undermine the country's federal system and ultimately threaten the hard-won autonomy of the Kurds from Baghdad.

@americanmajority