The withdrawal was agreed to in 2024 under President Joe Biden and carried out under Donald Trump's administration, even as Washington wages war against Iran elsewhere. Iraqi security experts say the pullout removes a check on Iranian influence inside the country that had held for years.
Iran and its allies are treating the departure as a win. Analysts warn it could hand Tehran and its regional partners freer rein over Iraq's security and political landscape. The vacuum left behind worries experts for another reason too. They say it could let the Islamic State attempt a comeback in areas U.S. Troops once helped secure.
For Iraqis, the exit closes a chapter that began with invasion and war and shifts the balance of power in a country still working out who holds real influence over its future. The forces filling the gap, Iran backed militias and possibly the Islamic State, are the very ones that American presence was built to hold back.