A decade ago, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria had taken vast swathes of Syria and Northern Iraq and was knocking on the door of Baghdad when a multinational effort slammed that door and defeated the terror group.
Now that effort is changing, said U.S. officials speaking on background.
ISIS is a particularly vicious group, and its terrorists committed many atrocities on their way into power. The Iraqi government called for help and nations around the world responded and formed the U.S.-led Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve. “This coalition with more than 30 contributing nations has made historic achievements, including the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019,” said a senior administration official on background.
Still, ISIS “is down, but not out” and the group remains a threat in the region and beyond.
Now, after 10 years, this construct is transitioning.
“The United States and Iraq have decided on a two-phase transition plan for CJTF-OIR operations in Iraq,” the official said.
In the first phase, the coalition’s military mission in Iraq will end. This means coalition forces will withdraw from certain locations in Iraq as mutually determined. The transition period in Iraq begins now and will end in September 2025.
However, the coalition nations and Iraq recognize that ISIS in Syria remains a significant threat to the region and pledged to continue working to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS. The second phase looks to prevent the return of the ISIS terrorist threat in Syria. Iraq will allow the coalition “to continue to support counter-ISIS operations in Syria from Iraq throughout the second phase of the transition until at least September 2026, subject to conditions on the ground and, obviously, consultations among future political leaders of Iraq and the United States,” the official said.
The official, and a colleague from DOD, emphasized that the United States and Iraq are moving towards the type of long-term security relationships the United States has with partners around the world. “To be clear, the United States is not withdrawing from Iraq,” the administration official said. “This announcement comes after a decade of success from extraordinary international … cooperation between coalition partners, Iraqi security forces and the U.S. military and territorially defeating ISIS and in the core regions of Iraq and Syria.”
The coalition is still needed, the senior defense official said. ISIS is looking to reestablish itself in the region and establish groups in Afghanistan and Africa. The coalition must remain vigilant and ready to respond, the official said.
The United States will stay connected with Iraq as this process transitions. “We intend to stay connected in an advise and assist capacity with the [Iraqi] counterterrorism services, the Joint Operations Command, the Air Force and the Kurdish Peshmerga, all of whom play a very important role in conducting counter-ISIS missions,” the senior defense official said. “Until the coalition military mission in Iraq concludes, those types of partnered activities, can certainly continue. Beyond that, we will continue to discuss with Iraq — in the bilateral context — how we can continue to advise and assist and enable them in conducting necessary and counterterrorism operations beyond that period.”
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