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EXCERPT:
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military will leave Iraq by the end of September, American and Iraqi officials said Tuesday, following a 23-year presence that started with the 2003 invasion against Saddam Hussein and ended with much smaller operations against the Islamic State group.
President Donald Trump, standing alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at the White House, said “we don’t think we need the military there anymore” and noted Iraq’s growing relationships with oil companies.
“The relationship is a whole big relationship where we don’t need the military,” Trump said. “We’re there to help them. We’re there to protect them if need be. But we don’t think that’s going to be necessary.”
Speaking through an interpreter, al-Zaidi said “U.S. forces will be out of Iraq” by Sept. 30, “while U.S. companies will be inside Iraq.”