US Defense Secretary: US Military Forces to Remain in Iraq

The US Secretary of Defense announced that US military forces will remain in Iraq.

In Baghdad, Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, pledged to continue the presence of American forces in the fight against ISIS.

Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, made an unannounced trip to Iraq on Wednesday, March 7th, where he stated that his country is committed to continuing its military presence in Iraq and the fight against ISIS.

Austin’s trip to Baghdad took place on Wednesday, just before the 20th anniversary of the US military invasion of Iraq in 2003, which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

The United States withdrew its forces in 2011, but the Barack Obama administration sent thousands of soldiers back to Iraq and Syria three years later to bolster the fight against ISIS.