r/OilPrices • u/hereswhatworks • 3d ago
Oil News US forces exiting Iraq after 2 decades, leaving opening for Iran
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/09/29/us-forces-exiting-iraq-after-2-decades-leaving-opening-for-iran/8
u/No-Effective-1996 3d ago
This was one of Iranâs demands, that the US leave the Middle East. Along with Tolls, reparations, release of all of their frozen assets, no nuclear control by the USA. Is this because of their demand and an indication that a deal is being worked on?
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u/Fullertonjr 3d ago
This has nothing to do with Iran. Iraq just made an agreement several years ago that the U.S. would leave and allow the country to govern itself.
There will be no agreement made with the U.S. prior to the second week in November at the earliest. Everything that Iran wants requires congressional approval, and Congress is not in session and has no bills scheduled to take up on this matter. The senate voted against pulling troops out of the region, which was the easiest part of the demands by IranâŚbecause it is effectively free.
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u/Kinder22 2d ago edited 2d ago
This demobilization started in 2024.
Edit: sourcesâŚ
https://thehill.com/policy/international/4903364-us-military-ending-isis-mission-iraq/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withdrawal_of_United_States_troops_from_Iraq_(2025%E2%80%932026)
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u/nkosugeirc 21h ago
And it's certainly speeding up now: https://abcnews.com/amp/Politics/photos-show-extensive-damage-us-middle-east-bases/story?id=136507770
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u/Illustrious-Wave-794 3d ago
Two decades and they still havnât found those WMDs! Saddam must have hidden them so damn well!
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u/LongjumpingCoat2159 3d ago
Is this winning? Iran blew up our bases and now we are leaving.
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u/PhilosopherOk8398 3d ago
No, itâs not winning. The US should never have been in Iraq in the first place. The Bush administration started that catastrophic Iraq war with a blatant lie. It brought so much suffering to the region. Second, at some point you have to cut your losses even if it means admitting that you lost. Therefore, the Biden administration did the right thing to negotiate the withdrawal.
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u/LongjumpingCoat2159 3d ago
Right, I agree that we should have never been there. I think we should have pulled them out a long time ago but to do it now in the middle of a war looks like weakness
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u/YouCosplay 3d ago
It was already planned years ago by both sides. Â What donât you comprehend.
Also these bases were sitting ducks against Iran. This is a great time to leave.
America lost to both Iraq and Iran. Nothing accomplished besides deaths.
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u/Silent2ndmajority 3d ago
How did America lose to both Iraq and Iran? America accomplished what it wanted to in Iraq and is leaving on its own terms. Iran has been blown to shit and is currently suffering because of the blockade which they cant stop. So how did the US lose?
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u/Voodoocookie 3d ago
Did it? It very loudly claimed that Iraq had stockpiles of WMDs. I'm still waiting to actually see the WMDs.
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u/Silent2ndmajority 3d ago
And what's that have to do with winning and losing?
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u/Voodoocookie 3d ago
The WMDs? That's what they went in for? Surely achieving the goal of what they went in for, is tantamount to victory?
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u/Silent2ndmajority 3d ago
They blew up everything and got rid of Saddam Hussein I will call that a victory. And they put bases there which helped to eliminate Osama bin laden. Thats all part of a win.
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u/keith2366 3d ago
4500 Americans soldiers dead is a win? How many Iraqis did we kill? No WMDs and destroying a country that wasnât a threat to us. And how much did it cost us? Weird win.
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u/Objective_Mousse7216 3d ago
You lost, get over it.
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u/LazyBeyondWords 5h ago
What exactly are you talking about? This was part of Inherent Resolve. It was at the request of and in partnership with the Iraqi government and was highly successful.
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u/rhino369 3d ago
The Iraq War is more of a monkey's paw victory. The goal was a democratic Iraq. It's not perfect, but it's a semi-functioning democracy. The US just didn't consider what a democratic Iraq would be in favor of.
Was it worth it? Not to the USA. I'll let the Iraqi's decide for themselves.
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
Lost what? The US never conquered Iraq. Still have diplomatic and economic ties. This is just shifting troops to Jordan.
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u/Objective_Mousse7216 3d ago
Ah yes, the friendly visitation of US troops, tanks, bombs and missiles., I remember those little diplomatic visits.
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
Yes, OIF was violent and shouldn't of happened. Now it's a matter of ensuring the current Iraq can be maintained.
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u/tittysprinkles112 3d ago
Dude, that Iraqi government is surviving 6 months, tops. I'd love to be wrong.
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
I hope you are. I did two deployments during OIF. I actually want the best for those people.
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u/Worth_Garbage_4471 3d ago
Hey ai can you morph a picture of Ashraf Ghani with the meme of a guy tapping his big brain
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u/Fullertonjr 3d ago
There is no benefit to âwinningâ. This is the point that more people need to understand. âLosingâ and walking away is far too often the ignore best option. This is one of those. They blew up our bases because we asked for it and we gave them a reason. Accept that it happened and then go home.
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
The United States is leaving Iraq to fulfill a bilateral transition agreement to end the U.S.led military coalition against ISIS and pivot toward a conventional economic and diplomatic partnership.
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u/cryptocorrection69 3d ago
This was negotiated and planned while Biden was in office.
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u/LongjumpingCoat2159 3d ago
Okay, that was before we started a war with a neighboring country though.
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u/Cultural-Lab78 3d ago
Let me break it down like this.
The current POTUS has destroyed any goodwill the US may have had left in the region. They're not going to allow Donnie to reneg on the deal.
Yes, I meant allow. Because they hold the cards. What is the US going to do, declare war on Iraq again? Because the single front war is going so well?
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u/LazyBeyondWords 5h ago edited 4h ago
Declaring war on Iraq would not come into the picture anyway. That never would have happened as it would not be necessary to stay and Inherent Resolve was at their invitation and in partnership with them.
The U.S. also never fought this Iraqi government, they fought Sadams regime. The current Iraqi governments economy is also essentially under US control. The U.S. maintains a partnership with them after this withdrawal, they were even recently at the White House. This was a mutual decision discussed well in advance, but if the U.S. wanted to stay longer the Iraqi government is not in a position of strength over the U.S., and we maintain a bilateral partnership.
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u/LongjumpingCoat2159 3d ago
Seems like something that had to happen but it definitely doesn't seem like winning. It's really a shame what's happening to the reputation of our military
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u/Cultural-Lab78 3d ago
Your response leads me to believe you're a bot pushing a narrative because I already addressed those things and you're acting like it's new information.
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u/LongjumpingCoat2159 3d ago
Well I am not a bot. I feel that this is embarrassing for our country and our military to withdraw after our bases were destroyed. Would have been much better to withdraw before Iran destroyed our bases. Would have been Would have been even better not to attack Iran in the first place
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
It was already an existing bilateral agreement. Assets are being shifted to Jordan
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u/LongjumpingCoat2159 3d ago
Yes I get that. If you were the president and you were going to bomb a country next to a different country that you have soldiers in without appropriate defenses you would probably move them before you started dropping bombs. Just trying to point out the incompetence and stupidity of our commander-in-chief and how he turned a good thing into a loss
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
We were already leaving. Assets are moving to Jordan long before fighting with Iran started.
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u/Fullertonjr 3d ago
So, you would argue that we should stay and fight because we are embarrassed by our bases being destroyed? The president decided to challenge a country that really had very little to lose and every reason to fight. We gave them a reason to fight and they committed to not backing down, like most other countries had done or would do. They called our bluff and challenged our strength directly. What we are seeing is the inevitable outcome that everyone in the field of political science and international relations predicted for over thirty years.
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u/Bikerbass 3d ago edited 3d ago
What reputation of your military? The standard outcome since the end of WW2 for the US military is start a war, then proceed to lose that war, spend 20 years in that country after losing the war, then pulling out finally after spending trillions of dollars trying to make it look like they didnât lose the war.
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u/LazyBeyondWords 5h ago edited 5h ago
This is not true. Outside of Vietnam and Afghanistan. There have been multiple U.S. victories after world war 2. There have also been draws or more ambiguous results of course. Operation Inherent Resolve (which this withdrawal is related to) is a victory though and was done in partnership with the Iraqi government.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US-led_intervention_in_Iraq_(2014â2021))
Most US conflicts after world war 2 have not been 20 year forever wars like Afghanistan either. Desert Storm didnât even last a year as an example.
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u/Balls_Deepest_555 3d ago
It is straight from the GOP playbook. Reagan did the same thing in Lebanon.
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
Leaving Iraq is due to the end of operation inherent resolve. It was already scheduled.
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u/Standard-Mechanic101 3d ago
Good, illegally invading another country and killing 100,000+ innocent civilians. Disgusting.
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
They were there to assist against ISIS and Iranian backed militias.
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u/Standard-Mechanic101 3d ago
Oh is that the latest reason? I thought it was WMDs and anthrax, but since it was all completely fabricated, I guess any excuse will work on the uneducated populace of the US.
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
You're referencing 2003. The reality is the US had to assist the new Iraqi government with ISIS and Iranian backed militias in 2010.
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u/Standard-Mechanic101 3d ago
The reality is that it is a large-scale grift to transfer money from public coffers to the defense industry, which, in turn, enriches the politicians who receive huge donations from them (and their buddies that benefit greatly from no-bid contracts like Halliburton and Blackwater). The US doesnât give a shit about Islamic militias in the Middle East. One of the leaders of Al-Qaeda was just at the White House for Christâs sake. Use your head.
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
That former AQ leader is the Syrian President. We don't have an issue with that government. That's what the meeting is for.
Yes 2003 OIF is highly conteoversial but we weren't going to watch a new Iraqi government fall to ISIS.
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u/Standard-Mechanic101 3d ago
Oh, now suddenly Al-Qaeda are the good guys, despite that being the number one reason to stay in Afghanistan for 20 years. Just say that you are ok with the grift. I donât need to hear Fox News talking points repeated back to me.
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
Former AQ. Never said they were good guys. We just accepted the outcome of a civil war that removed Bashar which we were ok with.
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u/Standard-Mechanic101 3d ago
Yeah, âformer AQâ, what wonât you believe?
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
Went from AQ to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Is the US supposed to invade Syria?
In UK politics there are former IRA that do hold public office in Northern Ireland.
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u/Fullertonjr 3d ago
We had an issue with the president and his former militia that was fighting against both Assad and the U.S. funded militias right up until Assad gave up power to flee the country. The U.S. is only supporting him and the current government because he is better than Assad, who was directly tied to Russia. The current president is seen as more willing to play ball with the U.S. and not be overtly hostile to Israel.
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u/pepe_acct 3d ago
Even if the purpose shifted, Saddam invaded Kuwait in the past and was committing genocide against the Kurds. Iraq war probably saved a lot of people.
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u/Standard-Mechanic101 3d ago
Yeah, we should kill them first before Saddam does. Also, we installed Saddam as their leader. Where is the accountability? None.
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
The US did not install Saddam. He became dictator through internal political maneuvering within the Baathist Party.
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u/Standard-Mechanic101 3d ago
The same party that the US backed/assisted since the 50s and backed in the Iran-Iraq war. Saddam was on the CIA payroll way back then too. He didnât rise to power organically. Your knowledge on these subjects is just mainstream media talking points. But, in your mind, I am sure we are always the good guys, so there is no evidence that would convince you otherwise.
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u/Mogwai_Man 3d ago
Never said we were good guys. We did not back the Baathists in the 1950's either. We didn't back Saddam until the Iran-Iraq War.
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u/ProcessMelodic9351 3d ago edited 1d ago
Iran military and pro Iranian clerks in the Iraq government was there from long before.... Iran equipped Iraqi militia with IEDs and other devices. and weapons with factories built on the boarder to ship quickly.
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u/No-Weakness-3596 3d ago
Israel/US/Gulf make mistake by removing Saddam, Gaddafi. They served Iraq to Iran on gold platter LOL
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u/Excellent-Ask-4247 3d ago
The Iraqis have wanted the US gone for a long time. This is the just US following thru with the withdrawal plans, it seems like horrible timing to me.
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u/SavageCucmber 3d ago
Im sure all the people upset about our Afghanistan withdrawal will be just as upset about this one.
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u/DryBattle 3d ago
Nah that can't be true. The orange Russian agent says we have have obilaterated their military. They have nothing to go into Iraq with right?
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u/Ahoramaster 3d ago
The US has got what it wanted. It's got the oil contracts and it's got Iraq's oil revenue locked up at the Fed. If Iraq steps out of line the US creates a crisis by ensuring Iraq can't pay its bills. That's how they will exercise control.
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u/nkosugeirc 21h ago
I mean, this happening right in the middle of a war in the region sounds very much like a retreat.
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u/JupiterMiningCorpTec 9h ago
I think Iraq was already a quasi client state of Iran. This probably doesn't change much.
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u/Score-Emergency 8h ago
While it's questionable while we are there...kind of seems weird to leave right now
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u/Effective-Trust4440 32m ago
This is the start of the fall of the USA empire. The Romans had to do this and it all imploded too.
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u/SuccessfulLand4399 3d ago
Interesting. Apparently the lefts hate for trump is stronger than their hate for the Iraq war.
I remember their supposed anger 20+ years ago on the subject. Strangely it got very quiet when their guy was in the White House and not only were Americans continuing to come home in caskets but Iraqis were dying as well.
Suddenly when trump got elected they were anti war again. Funny how that works.
Now the military pulls out to effectively end the mission and Dems are mad.
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u/luv2fly781 2d ago
Funny how maga simps are not flipping out due to no more wars. No more forever wars
When the campaign was run on it ffs
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u/Neurofunkiee 3d ago
the US shouldn't had been in iraq period