History of the Australian Army with automatic weapons; and shoot army personnel or others until they were killed or captured. Australia, as one of the many countries who sent troops to Afghanistan, provided specialist SAS teams for use against Taliban/Al Qaeda forces. Australia was one of the countries to provide combat forces for the US-led invasion of Iraq. In Australia it was known as Operation Falconer. In all Australia contributed some 2,000 personnel. The Army contribution to this was 500 soldiers. Following the end of major combat operations, Australia announced a withdrawal of most of its forces in Iraq. It left behind approximately 950 troops
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq Iraqi territory". The last U.S. troops left Iraq on 18 December 2011, in accordance with this agreement. In 2014, the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from Syria to Iraq's western provinces prompted the U.S. to intervene again, alongside other militaries, to combat ISIL. Immediately before and after the 2003 invasion, most polls within the United States showed a substantial majority supporting war, though since December 2004 polls consistently showed that a majority thought the invasion was a mistake. In the spring of 2007, surveys generally showed a majority in favor of setting a timetable