The War Department official said that US troops were in the process of leaving the Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq. Vincent Levelev)While the US is keeping troops in Iraq, the official claimed that the drawdown was ending the “forever war” in the country. The Pentagon is also consolidating its presence in neighboring Syria, where it plans to reduce troop numbers to under 1,000. The majority of the US troops in Syria are expected to be based at al-Tanf Garrison in the south, which is situated where the borders of Syria, Iraq, and Jordan converge. For years, the Pentagon claimed there were only 900 US troops occupying Syria, but the Biden administration revealed late last year that the real number was 2,000.