President Donald Trump placed Iraqi new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi at the center of his announcement that the last American forces are leaving the country, portraying the new Iraqi leader as a key figure in the next chapter of US-Iraq relations.
"This is a Great Day for America and, importantly, we leave with Iraq having a wonderful new Prime Minister, Ali al-Zaidi, somebody I supported from the beginning and fully endorsed.
"He won an Election that he was not expected to win, and did so, in a landslide!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Earlier Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced that the US and its coalition partners have formally concluded Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq.
Trump also said that the last American forces are leaving Iraq, declaring an end to more than two decades of US military involvement in the country.
"It has been a long time, with very bad decision-making that got us involved in this quagmire in the first place, but soon, that will be part of History," Trump said.
Trump said the withdrawal would mark the end of Operation Inherent Resolve and described the departure of coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base as an "orderly conclusion" to the US mission.
The president said al-Zaidi is "outstanding."
"He will hopefully be able to handle things very well. We came to fight a caliphate. There is no longer a caliphate. We are going home!" he added.
Later addressing a Hispanic heritage month celebration, Trump said he is "very proud" of al-Zaidi, and "hopefully he's going to do a fantastic job."
He said the orderly departure of coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base marks the end of "a very expensive excursion into hell."
"And again, we took all of our equipment. I said, 'Take a little longer. Take everyone.' We left all of the equipment. If you remember, in Afghanistan, everything was left behind ... I said, 'I want every screw taken. If there's a screw lying on the ground, take it. If we have a canvas tent, take it.' We took everything.
"A lot of people wanted us to be permanently there. I had a choice to stay or to leave, and felt without question that it was time for America to go home," he said.
