The Iraqi Civil War continues: The last United states Armed Forces (private mercenaries) leave Iraq.  This still leaves over 120,000 private security guards (soldiers of fortune) to continue the war.

       NOTE: In the opinion of western intelligence analysts, all of the nations around Iraq prefered that the U.s. Armed Forces not leave pro-Iranian Iraq: Allies feared the power vacuum that might spread to their own nations, while enemies feel that they will be less likely to be attacked if they are preoccupied with Iraq.

       [added 5/15/2022] Thanks to Chuck McGlawn for this entry.