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Regime Change in Syria Has Iraqi Factions Backtracking on Push for U.S. Withdrawal
(AP) Qassim Abdul-Zahra - The fall of Bashar Assad in Syria has led Iran-allied factions in neighboring Iraq to reconsider their push for U.S. forces to exit the country, multiple Iraqi and American officials said. The U.S. and Iraq announced an agreement last year to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by September 2025. Political and armed factions linked to Iran had been among the loudest voices calling for a U.S. exit from Iraq. When the agreement was reached to end the coalition's mission in Iraq, Iraqi political leaders said the threat of IS was under control and they no longer needed Washington's help to beat back the remaining cells. But the fall of Assad at the hands of Sunni Islamist rebels in December left some Iran-allied groups in Iraq feeling vulnerable, fearing IS could take advantage of the security vacuum to stage a comeback.