The process of reducing the United States (U.S.) military presence was initiated by Barack Obama’s administration and continued under Donald Trump’s first administration.
In his victory speech, Donald Trump said everything that would appeal to an advocate of American isolationism. “Let’s end the endless wars and bring peace” is by far the most striking statement, which will undoubtedly become a key part of U.S. foreign policy under Trump.
Evidence that Trump plans to withdraw troops can be found in the effects of his first term when in 2020, he began pulling out forces from Afghanistan, which in 2021 turned into an almost frantic retreat from the Taliban. From 2001 to 2021, the U.S.’s Afghan campaign cost between two and three trillion dollars.
Success was minimal; Afghanistan’s tribal society remained tribal, and the “bad guys” descended from the mountains to Kabul and took over U.S. military equipment valued between five and seven billion dollars.
Withdrawal from Iraq and Syria
The Iraqi venture since 2003, not including Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, has cost between three and five trillion dollars. U.S. troops, numbering 200.000, were reduced to 80.000 during Barack Obama’s administration, and by Donald Trump’s time, fewer than 5.000 soldiers were stationed in Iraq.
In addition to the Afghan and Iraqi campaigns, a campaign in Syria began amid the Syrian civil war. Although significantly smaller in scale and number of troops, it was yet another costly investment.
During the fight against ISIS, the U.S. Air Force conducted 11.235 combat sorties over Syria and 13.331 over Iraq. Considering that each flight hour costs around 25.000 dollars – reaching several million with weaponry – the cost of these campaigns further increases.
On the other hand, the Iraqi government, no matter how weak and often referred to as the “central government in Baghdad,” wants U.S. troops, now fewer than 3.000 on the ground, to leave Iraqi territory. The U.S. “Grand Bargain” strategy, aimed at redistributing oil exports among Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites, did not yield success.
In Syria, U.S. troop contingents are decreasing, with private military companies taking over their locations – a leading security trend in the region.
Domestic problems
And what has happened in the U.S. in the meantime? The vast majority of major corporations have moved their production facilities to the Far East, primarily to China, Japan, and South Korea.
The U.S. middle class has been eroded, rental prices have risen daily, tuition has become prohibitively expensive and out of reach for average wages, and taxes have increased.
Annually, from 2003 to 2024, between 650 and 1.000 U.S. soldiers have died worldwide, losses that no one is willing to bear any longer. Knowing Donald Trump’s policies, it seems time for U.S. troops to continue withdrawing from the Middle East, Klix.ba writes.
E.Dz.
