Trump Is Yielding a Key Country to Iran*
Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 30 September 2026
by Nikolas Busse (link to
original)
The president is pulling out of Iraq, where Tehran-backed militias still remain. Only he could consider this a policy of strength.
The United States had already pulled out of Iraq in 2011, only to return three years later. So, it can’t be said that Iraq has seen the last of American soldiers 23 years after George W. Bush’s invasion, which became a catastrophe for the country as well as the region. This applies even under Donald Trump, who once ran on ending America’s forever wars. In Iran, he continues the tradition of ill-considered interventions in the Middle East that have contributed so much to the world power’s military and political overextension.
In the civil war that followed the fall of Saddam Hussein, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, as well as thousands of American soldiers, were killed in the course of the year. With the U.S. withdrawal, prospects remain precarious for the country whose denominational and ethnic dividing lines persist.
The Fight against the Islamic State Group
The Islamic State group, which American troops were supposed to fight after their return, is weakened but not defeated. Above all, it is uncertain what is happening with the Shiite militias that have not yet been dissolved. They are Iran’s instruments of power in its neighboring country. In the war against the United States, Tehran’s leadership uses them in attacks against American bases across the entire region.
Trump’s strategic short-sightedness becomes apparent here once again. He is yielding a key Arab country to Iran, just like he abandoned Saudi Arabia in the fight against the Houthis. He considers this a policy of strength. America’s adversaries won’t see it that way.
*Editor's note: This article is available in its original German with a paid subscription.
The United States had already pulled out of Iraq in 2011, only to return three years later. So, it can’t be said that Iraq has seen the last of American soldiers 23 years after George W. Bush’s invasion, which became a catastrophe for the country as well as the region. This applies even under Donald Trump, who once ran on ending America’s forever wars. In Iran, he continues the tradition of ill-considered interventions in the Middle East that have contributed so much to the world power’s military and political overextension.
In the civil war that followed the fall of Saddam Hussein, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, as well as thousands of American soldiers, were killed in the course of the year. With the U.S. withdrawal, prospects remain precarious for the country whose denominational and ethnic dividing lines persist.
The Fight against the Islamic State Group
The Islamic State group, which American troops were supposed to fight after their return, is weakened but not defeated. Above all, it is uncertain what is happening with the Shiite militias that have not yet been dissolved. They are Iran’s instruments of power in its neighboring country. In the war against the United States, Tehran’s leadership uses them in attacks against American bases across the entire region.
Trump’s strategic short-sightedness becomes apparent here once again. He is yielding a key Arab country to Iran, just like he abandoned Saudi Arabia in the fight against the Houthis. He considers this a policy of strength. America’s adversaries won’t see it that way.
*Editor's note: This article is available in its original German with a paid subscription.
Previous article![]( "Washington and the National Liberation Army")
Next article![]( "US-China AI Co-opetition* and Taiwan’s Role")
