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Pentagon chief pledges continued U.S. troop presence in Iraq U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, making an unannounced trip to Iraq on Tuesday nearly 20 years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, said Washington was committed to keeping its military presence in the country The 2003 invasion led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians and created instability that eventually paved the way for the rise of Islamic State militants after the U.S. withdrew its forces in 2011. Austin, the most senior official in President Joe Biden’s administration to visit Iraq, was the last commanding general of U.S. forces there after the invasion. read more