U.S. will reduce its troops in Iraq to 3,000

WASHINGTON >> The United States is cutting troop levels in Iraq nearly in half, to 3,000 forces, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East said Wednesday, in a long-expected move that will help fulfill President Donald Trump’s goal of reducing the Pentagon’s overseas deployments.

The decision to reduce the 5,200 troops now in Iraq comes three weeks after Trump met in Washington with Mustafa alKadhimi, the Iraqi prime minister, in part to complete details of the drawdown, which will happen this month.

“This reduced footprint allows us to continue advising and assisting our Iraqi partners in rooting out the final remnants of ISIS in Iraq and ensuring its enduring defeat,” Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., commander of the military’s Central Command, said in remarks in Iraq on Wednesday, using an alternative name for the Islamic State group.

McKenzie, who last month signaled the impending troop cuts, said improvements in the Iraqi military’s campaign against the Islamic State enabled the Pentagon to make the additional troop cuts.

“This decision is due to our confidence in the Iraqi security forces’ increased ability to operate independently,” McKenzie said.

The move comes eight weeks before the November presidential election and allows Trump to tell voters he is fulfilling a campaign promise to bring home the troops.

McKenzie said the Pentagon was also still on track, as previously announced, to drop to about 4,500 troops in Afghanistan this fall.