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US Iraq Troop Withdrawal 'In Name Only' As Country Faces Uncertain Future
Perched on top of an armored vehicle, the exultant U.S. soldier's shouted boasts left no room for doubt as his troop convoy trundled into Kuwait: "We're goin' home, we won. It's over. America, we brought democracy to Iraq. I love you, I love you."
US soldiers drive past a pool of blood from a car bomb in Baghdad during October 2006. Photograph: Ali al-Saadi/AFP/Getty Images As a snap summary of
a highly symbolic moment -- the departure of the last major batch of
U.S. combat troops from Iraq more than seven years after the U.S.-led
invasion -- it at least had the merit of clarity. As a statement of
fact, however, it concealed a multitude of sins, failures, unintended
consequences, and doubts about the future.
For as soldiers of the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, poured out of Iraq under cover of darkness early on August 19 -- two weeks ahead of President Barack Obama's August 31deadline -- they left behind a country plagued in some ways by as much uncertainty as when the self-styled "coalition of the willing" invaded to topple Saddam Hussein's regime in March 2003.
Saddam may be long gone but -- contrary to the soldier's emotive claims -- who "won" is far from clear. And in contrast to the impression meant to be conveyed by the departure of U.S. fighting forces, Iraq today is far from secure. Militant insurgents remain ominously active.
On 17 August, a suicide bomber killed 61 Iraqi Army recruits in central Baghdad, while five government employees were killed in roadside bombings and other attacks the following day. Iraqi officials say July saw the deaths of more than 500 people, including 396 civilians, making it the deadliest month for more than two years.
The prospects for further violence in a conflict, which --- according to the independent monitoring group, Iraq Body Count -- has already accounted for the deaths of between 97,000 and 106,000 civilians, are all too real.
Expectations Not Met
As for democracy, Iraq has not had a functioning elected government for more than five months, following disagreements about the results of last March's general election, leaving a political vacuum ripe for violent insurgent groups like Al-Qaeda to flourish.
The country's economy, too, remains unstable, while its social cohesion is badly fractured.
According to Pentagon figures, the war in Iraq has cost the lives of at least 4,415 U.S. soldiers -- so the exuberance of the departing U.S. forces was understandable. But whatever they are leaving behind, it is hardly peace and stability.
The outcome of the war is very different from that envisaged in 2003, when President George Bush ordered the invasion, says Paul Rogers of the Department of Peace Studies at Bradford University in England.
"It is so different from what was expected 7 1/2 years ago, when the expectation was that Iraq would rapidly move to a peaceful pro-Western country with a very effective and vibrant free-market economy," Rogers says. "The result instead has been over 100,000 civilians killed and 4 million refugees and a very protracted war, which, at least for the moment, has left a high degree of instability." The continued lack of a government just makes this worse, he adds.
Iraq's, Region's Winners And Losers
That confounding of expectations becomes clear when trying to sort out winners from losers.
Among Iraqi groups, the Kurds appear to be plain gainers, having established autonomy in the northeast of the country over a region that is relatively stable.
Arguably even bigger winners are the majority Shi'ite community, which has gained a degree of political power from which it was excluded during Saddam's rule, when the Sunni minority held the reins. The Sunni community, by contrast, is widely believed to have lost out in the unfolding political flux of the past seven years.
But most striking -- and dismaying from the perspective of U.S. policymakers -- has been the strategic advantage gained by the United States' longtime adversary, Iran, which has gained from the removal of a regime that it fought in a bloody eight-year war during the 1980s. The theocracy in Tehran has also been able to exploit its shared Shi'ite faith with Iraq's majority to gain an important political foothold.
"Iran has probably gained the most, one would have to say," Rogers argues, "Saudi Arabia probably much less so and there are concerns in the kingdom because of the way in which Iran has gained. It's not that the Shi'as in Iraq are very much beholden to Iran. Theologically, one would say that Shi'a Islam probably has more important sites in Iraq than it does in Iran and there is a belief in a sense that one has to be cautious on the Iranian side about trying to gain too much influence. But probably in broad terms, Iran is the biggest single beneficiary of the changes in Iraq as far as the region is concerned."
Iran's gain may be Israel's loss. In the run-up to the war, the then-Israeli government of Ariel Sharon fervently favored Saddam's removal -- with memories still fresh of Iraqi Scud missile attacks against Tel Aviv in 1991, when a U.S.-led military coalition began operations to expel Iraqi troops occupying Kuwait. Talk in Israel in the immediate aftermath of invasion was of investing in post-Saddam Iraq and even of Israeli tourists flocking to a country from which thousands of Jews had fled in the aftermath of the Jewish state's establishment in 1948.
Instead, Israeli policymakers are now preoccupied by the resultant rise of Iran as a regional adversary and potential threat.
Dependant On U.S. Support
But even amid such domestic and regional power realignments, the depiction of the August 19 troop departure as a final U.S. withdrawal is something of a fiction.
While U.S. combat operations will officially terminate at the end of this month, when 6,000 support troops withdraw, another 50,000 U.S. forces will remain until the end of 2011, officially in an "advisory" capacity but with the potential to become more directly involved if the need arises.
In reality, U.S. military input is almost certain to remain tangible, especially given the recent warning from Iraq's top army officer, Lieutenant General Babaker Zebari, that his troops may not be ready for another decade and that the United States is pulling out too soon.
The United States is likely to stay closely involved in Iraq's defense irrespective of its troops' presence, says Hamid Fadhil, professor of political science at the University of Baghdad. He notes that U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is the biggest in the world in terms of size and number of employees.
"But I have to mention that Iraq is still dependent on the U.S. in many ways," Fadhil adds. "For example, there is some ambiguity when it comes to the aspect of external security and about the commitment of the U.S. to defend Iraq from any external attack."
Privatizing Security
One key component of Iraqi security likely to remain in the hands of the United States is air defense, a role Iraq is presently unequipped to adopt since it lacks an air force.
Following the departure of U.S. forces next year, responsibility for training Iraqi police to deal with insurgents is to be taken over by the State Department. The task will be carried out by contractors and is certain to result in a rapid increase in the presence of private security organizations. Already, according to "The New York Times," the State Department is planning to double the number of private security guards to around 7,000 to protect civilians.
Rogers says the U.S. troop drawdown will not end the involvement of external forces but will simply privatize it -- ensuring a large foreign involvement for many years to come.
"I think for the next 18 months, the reality is that there is going to be a large formal American military presence," Rogers says. "You may call them advise-and-assist brigades, but they do have a combat function if need be.
"But what is clearly going to happen is the privatization of foreign-security involvements in Iraq. That's already at a pretty heavy level, with many tens of thousands of security personnel from abroad. That I think, if anything, will at least increase but certainly not diminish. So in a sense, there is a transition over the next 18 months to two years towards at least a partial privatization of foreign security intervention in Iraq. I think that will persist for a long time."
RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq contributed to this report
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40 Comments so far
Show AllOver a million Iraqi's dead, the country in a shambles, trillions of US taxpayer dollars rerouted through the war into the pockets of the Bush/Cheney/Clinton/Obama cabal...it goes on and on. This is truly a victory for the neo-cons, and a loss for the world.
A true victory would look like the entire neo-con roster behind bars for the rest of their lives, war profits confiscated and used for reparations in Iraq, and a US policy of strict non-interventionism, in other words an end to the empire. Now THAT would be victory.
Well said!
But don't forget our blood that was wasted there and is on their hands too.
agree, absolutely.
Yes!
With one addition: the dismantling of all 700+ U.S. military bases established on foreign soil.
See a Clinton = Bush comment, read false-flag, military disinformation ops.
How many people (mercenaries, guards, contractors, intelligence ops, etc.) being paid for by the US taxpayers are in Iraq now? I read that the total number of those not in the US military is now less than those in. Not including them is misleading.
It's one huge shell game. And the Iraqi people will be the losers.
The US isn't going anywhere next year. But even if "combat troops" pull out then, they'll only be replaced by mercenaries. And my guess is both combat troops and mercenaries will remain for years to come.
Baruch is right. True victory would be Bush, Cheney et al behind bars where they belong, an end to the occupation, reparations for the Iraqis, and an end to the Empire.
"...they'll only be replaced by mercenaries." Right. After all, the Amerikkkan military industrial complex can make much more money from a privatized military force (mercenaries) that has little or no transparency than it can from traditional soldiers and Marines.
"True victory would be Bush, Cheney et al behind bars where they belong..."
No, I think Nuremberg thoroughly established that the penalty for the ultimate International Crime of starting wars of aggression is Death.
If there is ever an opportunity to prosecute these War Criminals, "time behind bars" for a 73 year old Condoleezza Rice and 81 year old George W. Bush et. al. is not going to be justice, or deter future petty tyrants. Firing squad seems like a better solution - live by the bullet, die by the bullet.
This Sunday, 8/21/10, 5000 soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (3rd ACR) at Fort Hood will be shipped out to Iraq.
Yes, but they're not "combat troops."
(Ever wonder why Americans are becoming increasingly disgusted with this country and hate filled toward its rulers?)
so the cost of victory? (in name only)
4500 usa troops dead
18 us troop suicides a day
over 100,000 us troops wounded
30,000 brain injuries
Number of troops exposed to depleted uranium - countless
a million civilians dead
over 100,000 iraqi troops dead
1/3 of the country in exile - either in or out of the country
well over a trillion spent - inducing a near depression in the us and world economy
no functioning government
no power - ok 4 hours a day - way way under what was provided prior to the invasion
no WMD's found
no democracy created - they cannot even form a gov in iraq - half a year after the election
sewer systems destroyed - so open sewage running down the streets
10 billion in cash LOST
National museum looted of irreplaceable artifacts
water systems destroyed - so iraqi's drinking out of the euphrates river - right where the open sewage flows into the river
But hey we got rid of the USA created and supported monster saddam
and we did get to build the LARGEST EMBASSY IN THE WORLD
So accordingly from the politicians: SUCCESS
Don't forget the countless Iraqi citizens who will be exposed to depleted uranium for countless genenerations to come.
Success is a meaningless term when the US invades a nation, unless it means that we have inflicted some arbitrary quota of suffering. Or maybe it means USians have been sufficiently hypnotised into thinking that we did some good there, and should do like good to Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, etc. I really have no idea what else it could mean.
Our soldiers are coming home to a land without jobs, where they'll be held under suspicion by Homeland Security, where they'll live out there lives in mental and physical illness . . . UCK. All I can say is UCK.
The DU issue is particularly insidious. It is never mentioned by the US but the birth defects, cancers (especially childhood leukemia) since GHWB's Gulf War have killed millions, mostly children. The US government is guilty of truly horrible crimes against humanity. The amount of suffering caused by these bloodthirsty oilthirsty monsters is beyond measure.
The Bushes and Clintons and Obamas and Cheneys and Rumsfelds and Wolfowitzes and Powells and Rices (and the list goes on) all live with the stain of causing and/or collaborating in this holocaust. They really should all be rounded up and put on trial.
Of course, these "monsters' will never face any consequences for the evil they've delivered to the world--at least not in this lifetime. Furthermore, these creatures feel no remorse for the horror they have inflicted on the vulnerable because they have severe personality disorders.
...the exultant U.S. soldier's shouted boasts: "We're goin' home, we won. It's over. America, we brought democracy to Iraq. I love you, I love you."
This is the kind of statement made by someone raised in a vacuum tube.
It is little wonder many posters here have refered to America as a nation of blood-sucking Zombies.
And to contemplate a zombie shouting: "I love you, I love you" is just something beyond comprehension... they don't even take it to that absurdity in the movies.
But it also shows the propaganda power of the MSM to brainwash even the troops there. Every TV news channel I saw last night headlined that "exultant U.S. soldier's shouted boasts". The Goebels propaganda strategy is still remarkably effective; even when people a face to face with the reality they end up believing the official lies. How many people could they convince that the sun rises in the west?
What can one say about a country that, without provocation of any kind, attacks a much, much smaller, infinitely weaker country, kills well over a million of its citizens, creates five million refugees, and destroys its electrical system, its water and sewage systems and economy? The answer: that country has committed an incredible atrocity, a war crime that ranks among the worst ever.
FACE IT ! ! The US ranks right up there with the regimes of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Tojo, and Stalin. And all of us are culpable. We helped pay for the atrocities and supported our leaders in their criminality.
Jim Shea
Jim,
Great post! Heads up for Jake Newton. He is going to challenge you on the number of dead Iraqi civilians, and twist your words so it will weaken your argument. Don't pay any attention to him.
There you go: the truth of the matter. There are some differences, however. First, since shooting Native Americans became a questionable practice, oh, since the 1950s, we've kept the atrocities off our land, for the most part. Second, while you can point to specific leaders in other countries, there's no doubt that our leaders just keep passing on the mantle. I hold Clinton no less responsible for the horror that is Iraq than the two Bushes, or Obama. Same with Afghanistan. Here, there is no specific monster to blame. The monster is the system, and the leaders are just sociopaths that fit into the scheme.
To quote a phrase from the famous Phil Ochs song "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore":
"Look at all we "won?" with a sabre and a gun! Tell me...was it worth it all?"
Please read the full WSWS Perspective article by Bill Van Auken at this link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/aug2010/pers-a20.shtml
A couple of paragraphs below:
Obama’s “Mission Accomplished”
20 August 2010
The White House and the Pentagon, assisted by a servile media, have hyped Thursday’s exit of a single Stryker brigade from Iraq as the end of the “combat mission” in that country, echoing the ill-fated claim made by George W. Bush seven years ago.
Obama is more skillful in packaging false propaganda than Bush, and no doubt has learned something from the glaring mistakes of his predecessor. Bush landed on the deck of the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003 to proclaim—under a banner reading “Mission Accomplished”—that “major combat operations” in Iraq were over. A captive audience of naval enlisted personnel was assembled on deck as cheering extras.
...
If the Obama administration has withdrawn 90,000 troops from Iraq—while leaving 50,000 in place—it is in order to shift military resources. It has tripled the size of the US expeditionary force in Afghanistan, which will rise to nearly 100,000 within the next few weeks in preparation for a military offensive that will claim the lives of thousands more Afghan civilians as well as hundreds more US troops.
Moreover, the logic of these two wars is inexorably paving the way to a third war. In both Iraq and Afghanistan, Washington is making increasing complaints that Iranian influence stands as an impediment to the US achieving its strategic aims in the Persian Gulf and Central Asia.
Yep, the fascist, warmongering regime of Barry Obama is already cranking up the rhetoric. Iran is next in the endless wars that have become the foundation of Amerikkka's foreign policy.
The military industrial complex and its co-conspirators the infotainment business and bought-off politicians are hungry beasts that must be fed.
If I were a religious person, I would say that the Devil won. In baseball terms, the Washington Senators did not win, but the damm Yankees did.
I agree with Jim Sheas post below. The U.S. rates right up there in its foreign policy with Hitler,Stalin ect. I disagree that we are all culpable, like the good Germans in Hitlers Nazi Germany. I would say that the vast majority of brainwashed, Americans are the new " good Germans " but unlike Hitlers Regime many in America are doing their best to stop this draconian monster.
The operation was a huge success...but unfortunately, the patient has died.
USA's stated Iraq war goals:
-find and eliminate Weapons of Mass Destruction - nope
-regime change and install a democratic government - nada
-end Iran's regional influence - hahaha
Is this what "winning" looks like to Americans? The US Corporate War Machine slinking away in the dead of night as the IED's keep exploding and innocent civilians keep dying? 4,500 dead soldiers, over 200,000 dead civilians, and a trillion dollars wasted?
yeay, team!
Apparently General David Betrayus did not get the memo. He said the 50,000 remaining troops "retain enormous capabilities." Sounds to me like the combat mission is not over. Someone might want to tell him to get on the same talking points page with Obama, Gibbs, Olbermann, and Maddow.
Rivers of tears, and endless shame on the United States.
What unspeakable crimes!
Amerikkka's savaging of Iraq will haunt us, and the horrors inflicted upon that nation will blow back upon us, for decades to come.
In all likelihood, some of the costs cannot even be foreseen from our present vantage point.
There's no doubt in my mind that Nemesis will knock on our door.
The official lies have never ceased regarding Iraq and they'll keep pouring in like a raging river flooding over its dams. Many of those lies have been enumerated here by other commenters, like mujeriego and mtdon. This article perpetuates one of the most persistent lies that has been refuted thousands of times, the number of Iraqis killed by our brave and patriotic troops over this hideous decade. To still maintain that "according to the independent monitoring group, Iraq Body Count -- has already accounted for the deaths of between 97,000 and 106,000 civilians", as the only verifiable measure out there, is like saying we stopped counting somewhere around 2005, and besides, it's only Iraqis. The real number is over a million, as numerous sources have reported, and no one knows how much over a million because who the hell can expect an accurate count when the piles of dead bodies reach to the skies in an environment as chaotically out of control as Iraq.
The US DESTROYED IRAQ, and this is what our ignorant troops (at least many many of them) define as victory and bringing "democracy" to the country. They will never recover from our compassionate invasion and occupation, will never form a stable government free of religious tribalism that our violent meddling only exacerbated, and they sure as hell won't develop into a "peaceful pro-Western country with a very effective and vibrant free-market economy." That's the biggest lying myth of all, and has been for 8 years, and of course the perpetually ignorant troops and most Americans continue believing it because corporate media and political leaders continue peddling it.
We live in an atmosphere of lies so thick it makes the Gulf of Mexico look like a body of pristine, pure, life-giving waters from a million years ago, before anything like us ever showed up to befoul everything else that lives and breathes. But by all means let's listen closely to all the candidates competing with their filthy lucre to assume positions of power where they can clean up the society of deep and abiding shit they themselves created. Don't forget to vote! That'll change everything!
Much thanks to our media and our Congress that truly believe Roger Clemons lying about the use of steroids is serious business and Bush's lies about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction are not worthy of investigation.
Like many others I have had the same thought. The duplicity of the "government" (thigs really) is plain to see.
In the first century A.D. Tacitus wrote "Solitudinem fecerunt, pacem appelunt". "They create a wasteland and they call it peace."
He was referring to the Roman invasion of Britain of course, but the imperial parallels linger.
Iraq is a disaster on every level.
What the US should have done to Iraq, and should also do to Iran and Afghanistan, is forget the military and give these countries favoured nation trading status. There is no atavistic hatred of the US in these places, although it is growing, but there is a desire to prosper. Such a policy might have engendered admiration.
Instead, the US offers a military destructive solution, plus puppet rulers with less legitimacy than their predecessors. Madness, and cruel incompetence.
And now all the world loathes the US. And the US is bankrupt.
Shame on America.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. According to Obama and The whore MSM!
"American Football" by Harold Pinter
Hallelujah!
It works.
We blew the shit out of them.
We blew the shit right back up their own ass
And out their fucking ears.
It works.
We blew the shit out of them.
They suffocated in their own shit!
Hallelujah.
Praise the Lord for all good things.
We blew them into fucking shit.
They are eating it.
Praise the Lord for all good things.
We blew their balls into shards of dust,
Into shards of fucking dust.
We did it.
Now I want you to come over here and kiss me on the mouth.
–Harold Pinter won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Did I miss something, I watched the coverage of the last vehicles of combat troops leave Iraq and cross into Kuwait.
We had 140000 troops in Iraq, and one 4 hour coverage of the last 4 truck load of troops leaving.
So , some how over the last month 90000 troops left Iraq, and we knew nothing about it.
You can believe that happy horse shit if you want, but 7 massive military bases are not empty, bet ya .
If I am correct, the main stream media , is truly an evil tool of propaganda of an America that has truly been completely hijacked by fascist corporations that control our military, namely the military industrial complex now runs America.
We are the modern day , " Have gun will Travel "
Only its " Have Military start wars" in the name of the Anti-Terrorist Gold Rush!!!
Billions for fighting terrorists, the funny thing is, there weren't that many to start off with,but, the more we look to kill every terrorist we say in any country we say , the more we seem to find,
Wow ,, Americas self perpetuating wheel of military industrial complex control,,,
If only we had the smarts 30 years ago to find a way to get off oil.
Think of the jobs, lives saved, no terrorists from country's that have oil that we want to control, no wars of false security , no trade towers attacks etc,etc,etc.
Thats right, everyone knows terrorists dont come from the Bahamas, Italy, Canada,Japan, Germany, France, etc,,, they come from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran ,
These three Countrys have more than have of that he worlds oil reserves.
Period, have no illusions why they hate us.
We have been screwing with these country's power structure , and people for over 60 years, in very serious ways, so the people become educated and figure out the only way to fight America is through terrorism.
Why!! To get us out of their country's so they can control their own resources.
I have said what every news agency should have been talking about over the last 30 years, in a couple of sentences.
I can t say anymore,
so , whats new???
so , whats new???
" . . . leaving a political vacuum ripe for violent insurgent groups like Al-Qaeda to flourish."
An Al-Qaeda, might we add, that was not there UNTIL the US invasion.
FTA: "It is so different from what was expected 7 1/2 years ago, when the expectation was that Iraq would rapidly move to a peaceful pro-Western country with a very effective and vibrant free-market economy," Rogers says.
Please tell me no one REALLY believed that "the coalition of the willing" could go in there and completely recreate a country and society from top to bottom, all the while ignoring millenia of culture and history.
A better name for them, it seems, would be the coalition of the stupid.
(I'm not certain if such profound IGNORANCE should make me laugh or cry.)