Responding to Rudaw's inquiry about the planned relocation of coalition troops from Ain al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq’s Anbar province and their headquarters in Baghdad, the source stated, "According to the agreement between Iraq and the Global Coalition [to defeat the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
(ISIS)], the withdrawal will begin from the Ain al-Asad and Baghdad base at the end of September."
Speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, the source confirmed that current activity at these bases is part of the withdrawal preparations, emphasizing that "the redeployment will be directed toward Erbil, and not to neighboring countries," as some reports have speculated.
Importantly, this statement appears to contradict comments made in mid-August by Hussein Allawi, a senior advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudan
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...i. At the time, Allawi had said that coalition forces would complete their withdrawal from "their headquarters in the capital Baghdad and the Ain al-Asad base in" by the end of September.
Allawi also noted that the withdrawal is part of the December 2021 agreement between Baghdad and Washington to transition the coalition’s role from combat operations to advising, training, and assisting Iraqi security forces.
He detailed that the coalition's mission will conclude within the previously agreed timeline - with the first phase ending in 2025 and final withdrawal by 2026. This shift is intended to lay the foundation for a "new phase of security cooperation" between Iraq and coalition member states, focused on developing "sustainable" and "stable bilateral defense relations," grounded in military coordination and in "political, economic, and cultural ties."
Also on Monday, a US Department of Defense official told Rudaw’s Washington DC correspondent, Diyar Kurda, that "the United States will continue a bilateral security cooperation relationship with Iraq" following the coalition’s withdrawal.
When asked specifically about the reported transfer of coalition troops to Erbil, the US defense official responded, "We do not have anything new to announce right now," but added that "the United States continues to review and, as appropriate, adjust its force posture in Iraq in accordance with the U.S.-Iraq Joint Statement on the transition of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Iraq."
Formed in 2014 under former US President Barack Obama
My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it...
, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS launched its operations in Iraq with
...
KABOOM!...
s, later expanding to include training and advising Iraqi forces. The coalition comprises nearly 89 countries and international organizations, including the US, UK, La Belle France, Germany, Canada, Australia, and several Middle Eastern nations, contributing military personnel, equipment, and financial support.
As of mid-2025, the US maintains approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq.
However,
you can observe a lot just by watching...
the presence of coalition forces in Iraq has remained a contentious issue, particularly after the January 2020 US strike that killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani near Baghdad International Airport. Days later, 168 members of Iraq’s 329-member parliament voted to expel foreign forces from the country.
Of note, Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for
spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
struck western Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase - now slated for closure - in the aftermath of the killings.