Italy to Withdraw All Troops From Iraq, Joining U.S. Exit and Shifting Coalition’s Balance
Italy has announced it will pull all of its forces out of Iraq, removing one of the remaining European contingents just as U.S. troops depart under a 2024 deal. The move reduces Western military presence in a country still worried about ISIS and Iranian-backed militias, raising fresh questions about who will fill the gap.
Italy is preparing to bring home its troops from Iraq, a decision that further thins out Western military presence in a country where security challenges are shifting rather than disappearing.
The announcement of a complete Italian withdrawal comes as the United States completes its own exit by September 30, ending a two‑decade deployment that cost 4,500 American lives. While Italian forces are far smaller in number, their departure removes another layer of coalition support that Iraqi forces have relied on for training, intelligence, and specialized capabilities.
Italian contingents in Iraq have focused on tasks such as training local security forces, advising on stabilization, and providing niche assets for counter‑ISIS operations. They have often worked in areas where the combination of Iraqi, Kurdish, and coalition forces helped prevent the Islamic State from reconstituting territorial control. Their exit reduces the diversity of foreign support Iraqi commanders can draw on.
For Italian service members and their families, the decision will be framed as closing a long and complex chapter, much as the U.S. withdrawal is being sold domestically as an end to open‑ended commitments. Yet for Iraqis living in contested or fragile areas, it raises anxieties about whether national forces are ready to fill every role coalition troops played—from mentoring junior officers to maintaining certain helicopters or equipment.
Strategically, Italy’s move reinforces a broader trend: Western militaries are stepping back from direct presence in Middle Eastern combat theaters even as Iran and non‑state armed groups entrench themselves. Iran‑aligned factions in Iraq have already claimed the U.S. withdrawal as a victory. The removal of another Western flag from Iraqi bases only strengthens their narrative that pressure campaigns work.
It also affects the internal balance within NATO and the EU. As European governments debate increasing defense spending and taking more responsibility for their neighborhood, some are reducing rather than reinforcing their deployments in places like Iraq. That gap is partly explained by competing demands—support to Ukraine, naval patrols in the Red Sea, and commitments in the Sahel—but it nonetheless leaves fewer Western boots on the ground in a country whose stability still affects global energy markets and regional politics.
For Baghdad, the departure of both U.S. and Italian forces presents a compressed test of state capacity. Iraqi leaders must reassure a population wary of both foreign troops and domestic militias, keep ISIS cells contained, and navigate threats from armed groups that have already warned of political consequences if the government does not align with Iranian interests on issues like aviation sanctions.
The most telling developments to watch will be how Italy coordinates its withdrawal timetable with Iraqi authorities, what, if any, residual training or advisory roles are maintained remotely or via short visits, and whether Rome redirects any of the freed‑up military capacity to other missions. Inside Iraq, changes in ISIS attack patterns, militia rhetoric, and government efforts to seek new security partnerships will show how far this latest coalition drawdown reshapes the country’s security landscape.
Sources
- OSINT