Iraq’s “alliance” with the U.S. has done it more harm than good. From Ted Galen Carpenter at antiwar.com:
When Barack Obama implemented George W. Bush’s agreement to withdraw all U.S. military forces from Iraq by the end of 2011, most Americans likely concluded that Washington’s disastrous intervention had come to an end. However, the administration reintroduced combat forces to Iraq and sent troops to Syria when ISIS launched its military offensive in 2013-2014 against those countries. Approximately 2500 U.S. troops remain in Iraq and at least 900 in Syria. Washington’s conflict still simmers in those countries against radical Islamists, especially in Syria.
The United States has responded to attacks from hostile factions, including the remnants of ISIS and militias affiliated with Iran, by launching deadly airstrikes. Although most of the strikes have been directed at targets in Syria, increasingly Iraq has also become an arena for renewed conflict. Such episodes have created tensions between Washington and the Iraqi government, which is nominally a U.S. ally.
When the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7, 2023, the fighting between U.S. forces and pro-Iranian militias soared. U.S. troops employed in Iraq and Syria have been attacked at least 100 times. Tensions between the Biden administration and the Iraqi government also have witnessed a dramatic escalation. The increasingly awkward relationship between Baghdad and Washington is highlighted by the role that the pro-Iranian Hezbollah brigades play. The brigades are prominent targets of U.S. airstrikes, but they are also part of the Popular Mobilization Force within Iraq’s military. U.S. strikes on November 21 reportedly killed eight Popular Mobilization fighters.
Leave some targets around in case a war is needed.
Or an indispensable ally might order an attack somewhere in MENA.