It’s a time of uncertainty in Iraq. Rumors are flying that the government is planning to postpone the US pullout, but the Iraqi army insisted Saturday that this is not the case.
The army spokesman says the pullout date for US combat forces was, and is, December 31. Intentions from Iraqi officials are that this is a fixed date, and not subject to change.
The rumors had been so persistent that one faction was seeking to raise volunteers to begin fighting the US forces if they stay on into 2022. The army insists this is unnecessary, and that the US will be gone by then.
The US invaded and occupied Iraq in 2003. Since then they’ve had variable troop levels, at times on the decline only to rapidly accelerate when a new situation, like the ISIS war, developed.