US President Donald Trump's attack on Pentagon leaders and the US Central Command's announcement of the withdrawal of thousands of soldiers from Iraq, have raised questions about Trump's relationship with the American military, and the significance of the timing of the announcement of the plan to reduce forces in Iraq shortly before the presidential elections that will be held on November 3.

Two days ago, reports indicated that Trump launched a sharp attack on military leaders, describing them as thirsty for wars in order to benefit the arms industry, and the media circulated statements attributed to him in contempt for American soldiers who perished in the United States' wars in the Middle East, according to what was published by The Atlantic magazine.

Trump denied this, saying that this was purely false news fabricated by parties he described as a failure in an attempt to influence the presidential elections.

Yesterday, the Commander of the US Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie, announced that the United States intends to reduce the number of soldiers serving in Iraq by nearly half, after "increasing confidence" in the performance of the Iraqi army.

Trump had pledged during a campaign rally in North Carolina on the eve of this announcement that his country's soldiers would return from "faraway places and endless wars."

About 3,000 soldiers will remain in Iraq out of 5,200 who will help implement the US forces ’counter-terrorism mission, while the reduction ensures the fulfillment of Trump's pledges to reduce the US military’s overseas deployment.

Al-Jazeera Net polled 4 experts in military affairs and in relations between Washington and Baghdad, about Trump's relationship with the American military, the significance of the timing of the announcement of the withdrawal of thousands of soldiers from Iraq, and its relationship to the presidential elections.

The election campaign,


Charles Dan, the former official in charge of the Iraq file in the National Security Council at the White House during the era of George W. Bush, considered that Trump is seeking by announcing the reduction of forces from the Middle East to serve his election campaign, and diverting attention from his underestimation of the deaths in the ranks of the American forces. "The timing of the announcement is calculated after news of Trump insulting US armed forces."

And he went on to say that the implementation of the withdrawal process and its related consequences inside Iraq should not be concerned, because it was discussed in the strategic dialogue sessions with Iraq, and the decision to withdraw forces will not put any party at a disadvantage, as was the case with Trump's previous declarations.

On Trump's popularity among the military, Dan indicates that it has become certain that it has reached a new low in his relations with the military.

A recent opinion poll conducted in the Military Times, concerned with the Pentagon and his issues, showed the extent to which Trump's popularity has declined among the military, and for a president who has always promoted his strong relationship with the military, he is heading in a largely wrong direction, Dan says.

More facts


As for James Farwell, a former official at the US Department of Defense and now an expert at the Middle East Institute, he indicated that his country will complete the withdrawal of almost all US forces, but the situation is unfavorable because ISIS is trying to revive itself.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Farwell said, "President Trump denies these allegations published by the Atlantic magazine, although many of his critics, including his former adviser John Bolton, support them, but more facts are still needed."

He pointed out that there is a lot of internal pressure in Iraq to accelerate the withdrawal of American forces, which is what Iran also wants, but after the withdrawal of these forces, ISIS appeared and wreaked havoc in Iraq, and if Washington had maintained a strong military base inside Iraq, it would have been able to help it to Preventing ISIS from taking over Mosul and other cities.

He added, "It should not be ignored that we are heading to presidential elections, it is not clear what Trump will do, and I think Biden will try to maintain an American presence in Iraq, but that always depends on what the Iraqi government wants to do. It is their country, not ours."

The military are fed up with


Drake Hunter, a former congressional official, journalist and expert close to the Republican Party, who believes that "the timing of the announcement of the troop withdrawal is very important. It is inconceivable that anyone who decides that two months before the presidential elections has the elections on his mind, but I imagine that most Americans will not." Care about this topic. "

And he considered that Trump could not decide a complete withdrawal from the Middle East alone, "I think that the military leaders are tired of everything, and a large percentage of the public is also fed up with our military presence in the region."

However, he considered that the matter is left to those he described as extremists, "Will Iran continue to finance the attacks or will they take care of their internal economic problems?"

No boycott, and in


turn, David de Roch, a former warrior and assistant professor at the Center for the Near East and South Asia at the US National Defense University, believes that Trump was clearly unable to fulfill his pledge before he came to power to reduce or withdraw US forces from Iraq and Afghanistan while ISIS was able to establish an army and borders, He added that it was clear that Trump wanted to withdraw thousands of troops from there before the elections.

"Therefore, there is a military and political momentum behind this decision, and it seems that Trump and those around him have calculated that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi is strong enough to govern and ward off the various Iranian militias without this large number of American forces," Roche added.

But Roche expressed his belief that no, there is no rupture between Trump and the US military, and that what was mentioned by the Atlantic magazine is nothing but a classic story from repeated Washington leaks.

And he considered that most people long ago made their decisions about Trump, positive or negative, "Trump is a polarizing figure, his critics will believe anything bad about him, and his supporters will not be affected by anonymous allegations."

And he believed that it is natural that people in the US military tend to support Trump, not Biden, due to their demographic and social nature.

And it might change if a general in the stature of John Kelly came out to confirm that Trump mocked the American soldiers and officers, and there might be a different effect of these allegations, Roche adds.

"It is unfortunate that some politicize the American army and act as if our army has an important political role. We are not in Egypt or Pakistan," he said.