Story
October 2, 2026
The U.S. Has Left Iraq, but Washington Still Cannot Agree on What the War Achieved
The final U.S. withdrawal closes a 23-year military chapter, but the competing claims of mission success, personal sacrifice and unresolved damage show how unsettled Iraq’s legacy remains.
The last American troops have left Iraq, closing a 23-year military chapter while leaving behind a far less settled question: whether the mission delivered a strategic success or merely ended an intervention whose consequences remain unresolved.
The formal withdrawal is being presented by U.S. military officials as an orderly conclusion to Operation Inherent Resolve, the 12-year campaign against ISIS. That mission followed the original 2003 invasion and the eventual return of American forces in 2014, underscoring how one intervention evolved into another rather than ending cleanly. CENTCOM described the departure from Erbil Air Base as an “orderly departure,” while the anti-ISIS operation was credited with helping defeat the group in Iraq.1
Supporters of the withdrawal emphasize completion and control. One account describes the anti-ISIS surge as assisting Baghdad “in a successful manner,” framing the deployment as a necessary response to the collapse of Iraqi security forces and the jihadist advance.2 Former President Donald Trump’s message, “We are going home,” reduces the conclusion to a straightforward restoration of American restraint.3
Yet that triumphalist framing competes with the war’s human and political residue. The withdrawal ends a mission, not the arguments over the invasion that created the conditions for prolonged instability, nor the risks facing Iraq after American forces depart. The headline that “not everybody is happy about it” captures the central tension: departure can be celebrated as an overdue correction while also raising doubts about security, influence and accountability.4
For veterans, the ending is more personal than strategic. JD Vance said his time in Iraq “shaped me into the man I am today,” linking the withdrawal to the experiences of millions of Americans who served.
5 That perspective does not resolve the policy debate, but it explains why the war’s consequences will outlast its final troop movement.
US Military Leaves Iraq After More Than 2 Decades — CENTCOM called the Erbil departure an “orderly departure”; Operation Inherent Resolve supported the fight against ISIS.
US announces all forces withdrawn from Iraq after 12-year anti-ISIS mission — The anti-ISIS surge was described as assisting Baghdad “in a successful manner.”
Trump marks withdrawal of American forces in Iraq: 'We are going home' — Trump’s withdrawal message: “We are going home.”
US withdraws troops from Iraq after 12 years of fighting ISIS — but not everybody is happy about it — The withdrawal was met with opposition as well as approval.
@JDVance on X — “My time in Iraq shaped me into the man I am today.”