US official: There is no structure for security cooperation with Baghdad after the withdrawal
US official: There is no structure for security cooperation with Baghdad after the withdrawal
9-16-2026
A senior US official, speaking to the British newspaper The Independent on Tuesday (September 15), denied any plans to establish “security cooperation with Baghdad” after the scheduled withdrawal date of the 30th of this month.
The Pentagon official, who declined to be identified, said that the remaining US forces in Iraq will complete their withdrawal with all their equipment, including air defenses, on September 30, and that alternative locations have been chosen for them in Jordan and the Gulf.
He continued, “After the withdrawal, some negotiations may begin to normalize the security relationship between Iraq and the United States,” stressing, “But until now there is no working structure for any security cooperation between Baghdad and Washington, including counter-terrorism efforts inside Iraq.”
The American official noted that “although Iraq was not used militarily as a platform to launch direct attacks on Iran during the war, American forces were subjected to direct attacks, and withdrawing them now from Iraq will provide us with the possibility of reducing the operational risks resulting from a war with Iran,” as he described it.
The newspaper notes that the remaining US forces in Iraq number no more than a few hundred, and also confirmed that they are currently stationed entirely in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in preparation for a complete withdrawal.
burathanews.com
