Military base return to Iraqi control a sign U.S. ready to shift more security to Baghdad

Western military officials are hailing the transfer of Camp Taji from coalition to Iraqi control as a significant milestone for the Iraqi Security Forces and the fight against ISIS.

The transfer Sunday was part of a long-range plan between Washington and Baghdad, and is the first such handover to occur following the historic meeting last week between Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and President Trump.

The transfer also marks the first time since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 that Camp Taji has returned to Iraqi control. 

“This is what success looks like,” said Australian Brig. Gen. Simon Johnstone, the senior Australian officer in the coalition. “The transfer of bases like Taji is part of our campaign plan for the ISF [Iraqi Security Forces] to secure their own future and defend Iraqi sovereignty.”

And, while the U.S.-led coalition has ceded seven other bases to Iraqi forces, Sunday's ceremony at Camp Taji underscores the discussions between Trump and al-Kadhimi about drawing down the presence of American troops in Iraq.

"We have been taking our troops out of Iraq fairly rapidly, and we look forward to the day when we don’t have to be there,” Trump said last week while standing alongside al-Kadhimi at the White House. 

“And hopefully Iraq can live their own lives and they can defend themselves, which they’ve been doing long before we got involved,” Trump added.

While the transfer may not gain much attention inside the United States, it is the type of event that resonates within Iraq, experts said. 

“Although American public attention is currently focused on the November election, COVID-19, and the economy, the Iraqi people will likely follow the optics and outcomes of Kadhimi’s visit quite closely,” Iraq scholars Dana Stroul and Bilal Wahab wrote last week in an analysis for the Washington Institute of Near East Policy.

Those optics were emphasized Sunday, when coalition and Iraqi military officials convened to sign documents that conveyed the base fully to Iraq.

"This is truly a historic day,” Maj. Gen. Kenneth Ekman, deputy commander of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, said in a statement. 

The camp for six years was a training site for coalition partner to train members of the Iraqi military, he noted, adding that those efforts have enabled Iraqi forces to train themselves. 

“From this day forward, the [Iraqi Security Forces] will take full responsibility for the facilities and programs at Taji and continue to use the site to lead and conduct training as part of the mission to defeat Daesh remnants,” Ekman said.

More than 47,000 Iraq forces at Camp Taji learned skills such as infantry tactics, marksmanship, combat medicine and intelligence analysis, the task force said.  

“The transfer of bases like Taji is part of our campaign plan for the ISF to secure their own future and defend Iraqi sovereignty,” Johnstone said. 

As part of the handover, the coalition transferred $347 million in equipment and property to the Government of Iraq, U.S. military officials said. These include infantry training ranges, vehicles, and more than 90 million rounds of ammunition. 

About 300 coalition personnel have left the base, with more to follow “in the coming days,” officials said.