US Completes Troop Withdrawal From Iraq After Two Decades

American military forces have formally completed their withdrawal from Iraq, closing out a presence in the country that lasted nearly two decades. The departure is being described as a significant turning point in a conflict whose effects are still felt in Iraq today.

A long presence ends

The complete pullout of US troops marks a formal end point to an operation that spanned two decades. Over that period, the country underwent significant upheaval, and Iraq is described as a nation battered by the conflict, with its society and infrastructure still recovering from the war's long-term consequences.

A correspondent who was there from the start

The development was reported by The New York Times, whose correspondent has followed events in Iraq since the very beginning of the conflict. The fact that the same journalist was able to cover both the war's outset and its formal conclusion underscores how long the conflict lasted and how deeply it shaped the region over time.

The two-decade American military presence in Iraq has been one of the most extensively discussed and politically complicated foreign policy issues of recent decades. The troop withdrawal closes this chapter, though the country continues to grapple with the war's consequences long after the formal end of the military operation.

The development is seen as significant not only for bilateral relations between the United States and Iraq, but also in the broader context of the Middle East, where the American military role has for decades been a major factor in regional stability and political influence.