Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said Friday (Jan. 15) that U.S. troop levels in Iraq have been reduced to 2,500, meeting a goal set by the Trump administration late last year.
“The reduction in U.S. troop levels in Iraq reflects the increased capability of Iraqi security forces,” Miller said in a statement. Five days later, Trump is leaving office to make way for the new administration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Miller added, “We have long anticipated that as Iraq’s ability to manage the ISIS threat improves, the number of troops needed to support Iraq in the fight against ISIS will decrease. The fact that we were able to reduce troop levels is evidence of real progress.”
The acting defense secretary said the reduction in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq does not represent a change in U.S. policy and is consistent with plans to reduce U.S. military involvement in major combat operations in the Middle Eastern country.
“U.S. and coalition forces remain in Iraq to ensure the lasting defeat of the ‘Islamic State,'” he said. “The Iraqi and U.S. governments agree that the ‘Islamic State’ remains a threat and that the presence of U.S. and coalition forces remains critical.”
The acting defense secretary said the United States remains committed to maintaining “a counterterrorism platform in Iraq that provides air firepower and intelligence support to friendly forces.”
According to Pentagon statistics, more than 4,500 U.S. service members have been killed and more than 32,000 wounded in Iraq since U.S.-led coalition forces stormed the country and overthrew Saddam Hussein’s government in 2003.
Miller also announced Friday that the U.S. military met its goal of reducing U.S. troops in Afghanistan to 2,500, although a bill passed by Congress two weeks ago prohibits the use of federal spending to reduce troop levels to less than 4,000.
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