BAGHDAD: The last US combat brigade pulled out of Iraq at dawn on Thursday, a key milestone in the withdrawal of American forces more than seven years after the US-led invasion ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.
Under the cover of dark, the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, crossed the border into neighboring Kuwait ahead of the planned declaration of an end to US combat operations in Iraq by an Aug. 31 deadline.
The pullout came two days after a suicide bomber killed 59 people at a Baghdad army recruitment center in Iraq’s deadliest attack this year, sparking concern the country’s forces are incapable of handling security on their own.
"Yes, they did," Lieutenant Colonel Eric Bloom told AFP, when asked if the brigade had crossed into Kuwait. "The last one crossed at about 6:00 am this morning."
"They have a few more days to clean the equipment, prepare the equipment, get it ready for shipment and then they’ll fly out (to the United States)."
It took two days for 360 vehicles and 1,200 soldiers to travel from Camp Liberty on Baghdad’s outskirts and Camp Taji north of the capital, through the Shia south, and into the Gulf emirate, Bloom said.
He said the rest of the 4,000-strong brigade departed the country by air.
Captain Russell Varnado at Camp Arifjan, a major US base about 70 kilometers (45 miles) south of Kuwait City, told AFP "the combat troops have finished moving."
"The troops are transitioning now. They are scheduled to go back home soon," he said, without giving a specific date.
Kuwait, which hosts several American military camps in its northern desert close to the Iraqi border as well as a naval base, was used as the launch pad for the 2003 invasion.
According to the New York Times,the US State Department is to more than double the number of security contractors it employs in Iraq to around 7,000, filling the gap left by departing troops.
The newspaper said Thursday that the contractors would be deployed to defend five fortified compounds that will be left behind as US combat forces exit Iraq and the US mission switches from a military-led to a civilian-headed operation.
Citing unnamed administration officials, the Times said private security contractors would operate radar to warn of enemy fire, search for roadside bombs, and fly surveillance drones.
They could also staff "quick reaction forces" dispatched to rescue civilians in trouble.
About 56,000 US soldiers remain stationed in Iraq, with that figure set to drop to 50,000 by Sept. 1, less than a third of the peak level during "the surge" of 2007.
At that point, the US mission in Iraq will be re-christened "Operation New Dawn", from "Operation Iraqi Freedom" — the name given to American operations here since the invasion.
The remaining 6,000 soldiers who will leave the country in the next two weeks are clustered throughout Iraq, Captain Sarah Baumgardner said.
"It is about a transition to a change of mission, going from combat operations to stability operations," Major General Stephen Lanza said in an interview with US television channel MSNBC.
The Times said more than 1,200 specific tasks currently handled by US troops have been identified for handover to US civilians or Iraqis or to be phased out.
The State Department meanwhile, seeking to outfit its employees for the next phase of their mission, plans to purchase 60 mine-resistant vehicles from the Pentagon and to expand its inventory of armored cars to 1,320.
It also plans to add three planes to the sole aircraft it has now, and expand its helicopter fleet — to be piloted by contractors — to 29 from 17.
The increased reliance on security contractors could cause conflict with Iraq’s government, which is sensitive to the use of foreign security personnel because of their alleged involvement in incidents involving civilian deaths.
But the forces employed by the State Department will not have immunity from Iraqi prosecution, will be required to register with the country, and will be trailed by State Department regional security officers for extra oversight.
The pullout coincided with the arrival of James Jeffrey, the new US ambassador to Iraq, who presented his diplomatic credentials Wednesday to the conflict-torn nation’s president, Jalal Talabani.
Jeffrey’s arrival comes during a political deadlock in Iraq, with no new government having yet formed after elections in March, and in the middle of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when insurgent attacks typically peak.
A spike in violence in July, which Iraq put as the deadliest month since 2008, and the suicide attack on Tuesday that was blamed on Al-Qaeda, have sparked disquiet over the readiness of Iraq’s own forces.
"I am not in favor of the American forces being here, but I cannot support their withdrawal right now — the Iraqi forces are not ready," said Jabbar Shammari, editor-in-chief of the Iraqi Press Agency.
"It would have been better to await the formation of a government."
While US officers insist their Iraqi counterparts are up to the task, the country’s top military officer told AFP last week that US forces may be needed in the conflict-wracked nation for a further decade.
But that seems unlikely. The White House has repeatedly insisted that the withdrawal schedule, which will see the last US soldier depart Iraq at the end of next year, remains on track.
US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley described the end of combat operations as a "historic moment," but stressed America’s long-term commitment to Iraq was unwavering.
"We’re not ending our involvement in Iraq," he told MSNBC as the footage of the brigade crossing into Kuwait was shown.
"We will have important work to do. This is a transition. This is not the end of something. It’s a transition to something different. We have a long-term commitment to Iraq."
In a letter dated Aug. 18 and posted on the White House website, President Barack Obama also hailed the end of combat operations but made no mention of the final combat troops leaving.
"Shortly after taking office, I put forward a plan to end the war in Iraq responsibly," the letter said.
"Today, I’m pleased to report that — thanks to the extraordinary service of our troops and civilians in Iraq — our combat mission will end this month, and we will complete a substantial drawdown of our troops."
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An Iraqi soldier mans a checkpoint in Baghdad on Aug. 19 after the last US combat brigade pulled out of Iraq. (AFP Photo/Ali Al-Saadi)
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