On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and US President Joe Biden sealed an agreement to formally end the US combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021. It has been more than 18 years since US troops have been deployed to the country. The U.S. forces will eventually still operate there in an advisory role.
The decision is seen as a booster for Baghdad after Kadhimi is pressured by Iran-aligned partied and paramilitary groups who oppose the U.S. military role in the country.
The first face-to-face talks between Biden and Kadhimi were held in the Oval Office. Biden addressed the reporters that the US role in Iraq is to be available, to continue to train, to assist, to help, and to deal with ISIS as it arises but they will not be there by the end of the year in a combat mission.
The U.S. mission in the recent year was focused on helping defeat Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. The United State will provide $5.2 million to help fund a U.N. mission to monitor October elections in Iraq and also provide five lakh doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine under the global Covax vaccine sharing program.
