For most people, 2020 has been nothing but a consistent harborer of bad news- rather raging wildfires, the ever-looming tension of a tumultuous political election in the US, and of course, a pandemic of such unprecidence and calibre it still feels unreal to most. However not every event  to have occurred this year tells of despair and strife. One such gem in an array of daunting stories is the long-awaited decision by the U.S government to reduce it’s amount of soldiers located in Iraq. 

This reduction of American personnel has been heavily advocated for after years of conflict between the United States and Iraq. Over the last decade, tensions between those countries in the Middle East and America have resulted in the continuous presence of the US military in their affairs. “It has been 13 years since the US military reached its peak number of active troops in Iraq,” Good News Network reports, “with 170,000 service members deployed in 2007.” Furthermore NPR claims that America’s involvement in Iraq has remained mostly steady in the past four years. 

With the new decree however, there are now to be drastic changes in the previously consistent stream of American soldiers. Central Command’s General Frank McKenzie published a speech that details the plan to go from 5,200 troops to 3,000 troops as of this September. “This reduced footprint allows us to continue advising and assisting our Iraqi partners in rooting out the final remnants of ISIS in Iraq and ensuring its enduring defeat,” Mckenzie explains. “This decision is due to our confidence in the Iraqi security forces’ increased ability to operate independently. 

Adding on to this journey towards peace is the parallel decision to go from 6,500 American troops to 4,000 in Afghanistan. While this might seem but a small step towards patching up a hazardous relationship, the choice to evoke US men and women from the Middle East can only be observed as a much needed example of peace in a time of consuming conflict.