U.S. Withdraws From Iraq After Two Decades, and Trump Tells A.I. Giants to Police Themselves

The Headlines

The episode covers the formal withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq after two decades, leaving questions about regional stability and Iranian

Key takeaways

• U.S. forces officially completed their withdrawal from Iraq on September 30th, ending a presence that began in 2003.
• Internal OpenAI employees warned executives about security vulnerabilities months before AI agents were reported to have gone rogue.
• President Trump hosted AI executives at the White House to establish a voluntary agreement for industry self-policing.
• The Supreme Court issued an emergency ruling allowing the administration to temporarily resume third-country deportations.
• ICE is planning a surge of 5,000 new hires despite previous criticisms regarding vetting and training standards.

Main topics

• U.S. withdrawal from Iraq
• OpenAI security vulnerabilities
• Trump AI regulation policy

Notable quotes

I think it's morally binding.

Conclusion

The episode provides a heavy look at shifting global and domestic secu

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:00) I'm Winna Liu. I write the game Connections, one of the puzzles from New York Times games. And I love horror movies. I love my dog. And I love trying to trick you. Speaker 2 (0:08) I'm Sam Mazursky, and I create the game Spelling Bee and Letterboxd on a daily basis. And I have this thing called chromesthesia. I see color when I'm listening to music. Speaker 4 (0:19) New York Times games are made by people, like the ones you just heard from. Subscribe now for a special offer on all of our games at nytimes.com slash join games. Speaker 5 (0:32) From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today is Wednesday, September 30th. Here's what we're covering. Speaker 5 (0:44) Even with all eyes on Iran at the moment, the big story today is next door in Iraq. As of this morning, U.S. forces have formally withdrawn from the country, ending a two-decade military presence that began with the U.S. toppling of the dictator Saddam Hussein back in 2003. This is actually the U.S.'s second withdrawal. American forces first left Iraq in 2011, only to return a few years later to fight. ISIS after the jihadist group spread across the region. Now, the last of the U.S. forces that were still stationed in Iraq are gone under a withdrawal agreement the Baghdad government struck with the Biden administration. It set a deadline of September 30th, and the Trump administration has followed through. Iraq is marking the occasion with a three-day, quote, celebration of sovereignty, an end to the U.S. military presence that set off so much deadly violence there and included grave abuses like the torture of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib by American soldiers and the extrajudicial killings of Iraqi civilians by private defense contractors. Still, some in Iraq are concerned that it's a precarious time to see American troops Speaker 6 (2:00) go. We spoke to one man from Mosul who described how his wife went blind because she was hurt by an American bullet. His uncle was paralyzed by an American bullet. But now, 20 years later, watching the Americans leave, the feeling of happiness he expected is mixed with a lot of anxiety. Speaker 5 (2:18) Erica Solomon covers Iraq for The Times. She says one of the biggest concerns is what the withdrawal will mean for Iran's influence in Iraq. A vast array of Iran-backed militias operate in the country, and in recent months, Iran has used the