Update on the US Withdrawal From Iraq

There are three areas where there still seems to be confusion about the formal end of US combat operations in Iraq. Many of these issues have already been address in two sets of analyses by the Burke Chair:

1. A book on strategic partnership with Iraq, available on the CSIS web site at:
   https://www.csis.org/analysis/iraq-and-united-states

2. A five part series on the current situation in Iraq available on the CSIS web site at:
   https://www.csis.org/analysis/iraq-realities-us-withdrawal-combat-forces-and-challenges-strategic-partnership

There are, however, three areas where further clarification seems necessary:

1. US forces remaining in Iraq,
2. Levels of violence in Iraq, and
3. continuing US civil aid programs. 

Official sources have reported on all three of these areas recently.  The PDF available at https://csis-website-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/publication/100902_Iraq_Update_Analysis.pdf details this reporting.