Obama Officially Ends the Iraq War

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright December 15, 2011
All Rights Reserved.                                         

                When Operation Iraqi Freedom began with a bang March 20, 2011, Cruise missiles lit up the Baghdad sky in what was called “shock-and-awe.”  All the fireworks in Iraq started what former George H.W. Bush’s National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft warned would be a “power vacuum,” prompting him and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin L. Powell to avoid toppling Saddam Hussein in the first 1991 Gulf War.  Those same concerns were drowned out by Secretary of State Powell presenting former President George W. Bush’s case for war to the U.N. Security Council Feb. 6, 2003.  When the dust settled after “shock and awe,” Iraq was, as predicted, in chaos and anarchy, prompting a massive mobilization of U.S. troops.  Nine years later, over 4,500  U.S deaths and more than 30,000 injuries and permanent disabilities become the real legacy of the Iraq War.

            Addressing soldiers at Fort Bragg, N.C., home of the 82nd Airborne Division, Obama chose his words carefully, reluctant to declare victory.  Calling the end of the Iraq conflict “an extraordinary accomplishment,” Barack, avoided what Bush did May 2, 2003 on an Aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego, Calif.:  Declared victory.  Obama’s measured approach met harsh criticism by his former presidential rival, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), blasting the president for ending the war for political reasons.  McCain could never quite decide when enough was enough with respect to ending the costly war, blamed by Columbia University’s Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz for breaking the U.S. economy.  Adding to nearly 3,000 casualties of Sept. 11, the Iraq War added 4,500 deaths and 30,000 injuries but didn’t significantly improve U.S. National Security or global credibility.

            Commemorating ending the Iraq War, Obama praised the troops for a job well-done.  “Of course, Iraq is not a perfect place.  Bus we are leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government that was elected by its people,” said Barack, repeating the same jingo as Bush, with his grand scheme of democratizing the Middle East.  All the talk of Iraq’s sovereignty and stability must be tempered with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s close personal ties to Ayatollah Al Khamenei’s Iran.  There’s no denying al-Maliki’s close ties to the brutally repressive government of President Mahmoud Ahamadinejad, busy enriching uranium, denying the Holocaust and threatening to “wipe Israel off the map.”  With suicide bombing a daily ritual in Baghdad, there’s actually little stability in security outside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone.

            Barack delivered on a campaign promise to end what he once called while Illinois senator in 2002 a “dumb war.”  McCain couldn’t help take another shot at the president.  “It was a sad case of political expediency triumphing over military necessity, both in Baghdad and Washington,” said McCain, blasting Obama for “a failure of leadership.”  If McCain had his way, the Iraq War would, like Orwell’s perpetual wars in his classic novel “1984,” have no end.  Bush and Cheney talked of dishonoring the dead by recognizing a mistake, pulling the plug and bringing troops home.  “Because of you, we  are ending these wars in a way that will make America stronger and world more secure,” said Barack to soldiers at Fort Bragg.  Obama knows that the U.S. is not stronger with a broken economy, weakened military and battered image around the planet, now seeing America as a global aggressor.

            Calling Obama’s decision to end the Iraq War “a failure of leadership,” the new Republican Party, through its presidential frontrunners former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry, already committed themselves to a war with neighboring Iran.  No matter how much Barack tries to find a silver lining, the Iraq War caused more casualties, injuries and damaged the U.S. economy.  Starting a new war with Iran could trigger WW III, with Russia and China opposing more U.S. aggression.  Economic consequences to the U.S and foreign economies would be disastrous, almost certainly sending the world now teetering into a new recession.  Yet McCain and the GOP think it’s politically irresponsible to end one of the most costly, ill-conceived wars in U.S. history.  Considering a new war with Iran is beyond madness.

            Commemorating the end of the Iraq War, Obama tried to save face, thanking U.S. troops for their sacrifice.  With over 4,500 deaths 30,000 injuries, there’s no silver lining unless the U.S. learns from its experience.  Preemptive war only makes sense if the U.S. has credible and compelling intel about an expected attack.  Speculating about Iran’s “secret” nuclear weapons program, much like Bush’s claims about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction, caused a 9-year-long conflict, damaging the U.S. economy and global credibility.  Instead of planning the next war, the GOP should be encouraging Barack to get out of Afghanistan, another bottomless pit and drain on the military and U.S. treasury.  Before considering the next conflict, Barack needs to show some common sense, beat back the hawks and end gratuitous wars that damage the U.S. economy.  Only then, can things get back on track.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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