U. S. Forces Leave Behind a Power Vacuum in Iraq

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the end of the U. S. military intervention in Iraq, a stabbing attack on a FlyDubai flight en route to Israel, and Russia’s nuclear threats against NATO. Who Stands to Gain? U. S. forces have finally left Iraq. Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the end of the U. S. military intervention in Iraq, a stabbing attack on a FlyDubai flight en route to Israel, and Russia’s nuclear threats against NATO. Who Stands to Gain? U. S. forces have finally left Iraq. Iraqis celebrated the United States’ long-awaited withdrawal on Wednesday, as many had blamed Baghdad’s years of instability on the foreign military’s presence. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians and thousands of U. S. troops were killed during Washington’s two decades of involvement. However, with the Iran war still active across the region, experts warn that the United States’ departure now leaves behind a power vacuum that U. S. adversaries are likely to take advantage of. U. S. troops invaded Iraq in 2003 to oust Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, and they remained in the country until 2011 to support its Shiite-led government. Less than three years later, though, U. S. forces returned to help fight the Islamic State. Then, in 2024, President Joe Biden struck an agreement with Baghdad to end the U. S. military presence in Iraq by September 2025. However, developments in neighboring Syria led Iraq to allow a small contingent of U. S. advisors and security personnel to remain beyond that deadline. U. S. forces also continued to operate from the country’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. In recent months, U. S. forces have carried out military operations against pro-Iranian paramilitary groups in Iraq, which have claimed responsibility for repeated strikes on U. S. troops in the region as well as a recent drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline. Despite Baghdad remaining the only Middle Eastern government to maintain close military and political ties with both Tehran and Washington, analysts argue that Iraq has become a secondary battlefield in the Iran war; of the 18 U. S. service members killed since the Iran war began in February, seven died ​in Iraq. Wednesday’s withdrawal could exacerbate that instability. “The most important question now is whether Iraq’s security institutions have prepared a viable Plan B for the ​post-coalition phase,” retired Iraqi Army Gen. Mohammed al-Jubouri told Reuters. Locals aren’t optimistic. “We believe Iraq is still not fully ready to take over the security file ​at this time,” Abdulrahman al-Zobaie, a Sunni tribal leader in Fallujah, told Reuters. That city was the site of some of the bloodiest fighting between U. S. forces and insurgents during the Iraq War, and it was the first Iraqi city that the Islamic State seized after U. S. troops withdrew last time. Meanwhile, the United States’ military is experiencing its own shake-up. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that he plans to cut the number of reserved positions for generals and admirals by 20 percent. That would affect around 800 individuals across the one- to four-star ranks. The Pentagon asserts that the cuts are necessary to reduce bureaucratic red tape; yet, many critics believe that the changes are Hegseth’s latest strategy to discourage dissent, sideline experienced commanders, and appoint more officers who are loyal to President Donald Trump. The administration has already fired or pushed out more than two dozen senior leaders, including the Army’s top uniformed officer, the chief of naval operations, and the only two women serving as four-star commanders. Today’s Most Read What Xi Actually Thinks of Trump by Howard W. French Why Nobody Can End the War in Ukraine by Stephen M. Walt Trump’s ‘Greater North America’ Is Fascist Geopolitics by Van Jackson What We’re Following Attack on Israel-bound flight. A commercial flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after one of its pilots stabbed his counterpart and tried to crash the plane. Passengers and crew members were able to subdue the attacker, allowing other crew members to land the aircraft at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport. FlyDubai flight FZ1073 was carrying more than 170 passengers at the time. It is unclear what caused the altercation in the cockpit. “At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation,” FlyDubai said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Wednesday that the attacker, an Omani national, was arrested upon landing and that “all passengers are out of harm’s way.” This was a “highly severe security incident,” Netanyahu said, adding that the flight’s rapid descent by nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds as well as its ensuing emergency alert prompted Israel to scramble warplanes due to concerns of a hijacking. Israeli officials are reportedly investigating the event as a possible terrorist attack. Netanyahu’s office has ordered tighter security on all flights entering the country. “Every pilot that is going to be flying into Israel, we are going to know the pilots’ identities, know who they are, and do some type of security check,” Doron Spielman, a spokesperson from Netanyahu’s office, told Reuters. Eyes on Kaliningrad. Russia has threatened to use nuclear weapons against NATO members if the alliance attempts to cut off Moscow’s access to its Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad. “Russia will be ready to use the entire arsenal of forces and capabilities at its disposal, including nuclear weapons, in order to defend its territory should Nato countries undertake any attempt aimed at isolating the Kaliningrad Region from the rest of the country,” according to a document that Russia sent to NATO this week, which was seen by Reuters on Wednesday. Kaliningrad has long been a location of concern in the Russia-Ukraine war, as Moscow could use its strategic location (with help from military ally Belarus) to cut off the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from their NATO counterparts. Russia maintains a large naval fleet and a vast missile arsenal—including nuclear-capable Iskander missiles—in the exclave. In recent months, Russia has also stepped up hybrid attacks on NATO soil ahead of what Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken stressed on Wednesday will likely be a “dark winter” for Europe. Just last week, Danish intelligence reported a “low but growing risk” that Russia will launch a limited attack on a NATO ally in the near future, marking one of the alliance’s bluntest warnings yet. But NATO chief Mark Rutte appears less concerned. Russian President Vladimir “Putin knows that he can never win [against] NATO,” Rutte said on Wednesday, calling Moscow’s nuclear threats “absolutely not called for and not helpful.” Back to the EU? British Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggested on Wednesday that the United Kingdom should consider rejoining the European Union, arguing that Brexit has done “more harm than good.” His comments came just one day after he pledged to bolster ties with the bloc during a speech at the Labour Party’s annual conference. Burnham has long favored closer EU relations. While serving as shadow home secretary in 2016, Burnham campaigned against Britain’s referendum to leave the European Union. And despite promising not to “rerun” Brexit arguments while competing in this year’s Makerfield by-election, he has since said that he wants to “look at the options” for EU membership. “We could look at what [former Chancellor of the Exchequer] George Osborne has said about a customs union, we could look at what the Liberal Democrats said at their conference about the single market, or we could go all the way,” Burnham told BBC Radio 4. This would reverse Labour’s 2024 election manifesto, which vowed to “make Brexit work.” According to a YouGov poll published in June, 57 percent of Britons believe that London was wrong to leave the EU, and 55 percent of respondents want to rejoin. Conservatives, however, are already warning that reopening “old wounds” will only make the United Kingdom’s next general election in 2029 more contentious. Odds and Ends FP’s most closely watched vote has a victor. The winner of this year’s Alaskan Fat Bear Week is Backpack, an adult male known for his “quiet toughness” and “elusive” nature toward the camera. The competition was fierce; the event had its largest lineup since the contest started 12 years ago, and Backpack defeated the daughter of Beadnose, a previous Fat Bear champion, by barely more than 5,000 votes. Yet Wednesday’s results were not too surprising, as Backpack’s own mother, Holly, was also once a Fat Bear winner. Guess victory runs in the family!