January 1, BREAKING: Middle East Power Vacuum About to Get Worse

Wyatt’s Take

• Biden’s military chiefs just signed off on abandoning another strategic position in the Middle East — this time Iraq — creating a massive opening for Iran and radical jihadists.
• America’s enemies are celebrating while our allies wonder if we’ll defend anyone anymore.
• This isn’t just a withdrawal — it’s handing the region on a silver platter to Tehran and every terror group waiting in the wings.

The United States will pull every last boot off Iraqi soil by September 30th. That’s the word from Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi after he sat down with U.S. Central Command boss Brad Cooper.

The announcement came with little fanfare from Washington. No prime-time speech. No detailed explanation of what happens next.

Prime Minister @AliFalihAlzaidy met with Commander of U.S. @CENTCOM Admiral Charles Brad Cooper.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Al-Zaidi reaffirmed the commitment to the agreed timelines, under which September 30 will be the fixed and final date for ending the military… https://t.co/tWXh6j9JEe

 — المكتب الإعلامي لرئيس الوزراء 🇮🇶 (@IraqiPMO) August 12, 2026

The U.S. is on track to withdraw all military forces from Iraq by the end of September.

Watch OAN on OAN Live for updates. https://t.co/rzpDk35yXn pic.twitter.com/k3ThDEEC6Z

 — One America News (@OANN) August 13, 2026

Just another retreat.

This marks the second time in recent years American forces have walked away from hard-won ground in the region. The last time didn’t go well — ISIS filled the vacuum and unleashed hell across Iraq and Syria.

Now we’re doing it again. And the folks who want America gone from the Middle East aren’t our friends.

Iran has been waiting for this moment. Their proxies already control large swaths of Iraq through Shia militias that answer to Tehran, not Baghdad. With American forces out of the picture, there’s nothing stopping them from tightening their grip.

Our Kurdish allies — the ones who bled alongside us fighting ISIS — are now left exposed. They’ve already been abandoned before. They know what’s coming.

The Iraqi government may be declaring victory and sovereignty, but the reality on the ground tells a different story. Iraq remains fractured, unstable, and vulnerable to the very forces that nearly destroyed it a decade ago.

This withdrawal doesn’t end America’s problems in Iraq. It just means we won’t have eyes and ears on the ground when the next crisis erupts.

And it will erupt.

The September 30th deadline is firm. U.S. troops who spent years training Iraqi forces, conducting counterterrorism operations, and keeping a lid on Iran’s ambitions will be gone.

What replaces them is anyone’s guess. But history suggests it won’t be stability.

Critics warned that premature withdrawal would create exactly this scenario — a power vacuum that America’s enemies would rush to fill. Those warnings are about to be tested again.

The decision follows years of pressure from Iraqi political factions with close ties to Iran. They’ve demanded American forces leave, even as those same forces provided the backbone for Iraq’s defense against resurgent terror groups.

Now they’re getting their wish.

Meanwhile, terrorist organizations never truly went away. They regrouped, recruited, and waited. An Iraq without American presence is an Iraq ripe for their return.

The withdrawal also sends a message to every other country in the region: America’s commitment isn’t permanent. We come, we fight, we leave — often before the job is done.

That’s not the reputation of a superpower. It’s the track record of a nation that’s lost the will to see things through.

September 30th will come and go. The flag will be folded. The last transport will lift off.

And the people who want to kill Americans will still be there. Only now, they’ll have one less obstacle in their way.

Wyatt Matters

Working Americans understand that unfinished business comes back to haunt you. You don’t walk away from a half-fixed problem and expect it to stay fixed. Our troops fought too hard and sacrificed too much to see Iraq handed over to the same enemies they defeated. This isn’t about endless war — it’s about not repeating the same mistakes that gave us ISIS the first time. The folks making these decisions in Washington won’t pay the price when things fall apart. Our servicemembers and their families will.