Edging out the Second World War by a good, long while, the last US combat brigade has departed Iraq, some seven and a half years after the initial invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and his Ba’ath party while tilting the country into a period of bitter, sectarian violence.
Of course, some 50,000 US soldiers and support staff will stay behind to help train the Iraqi military between now and the end of 2011. However, this is unquestionably the end of a divisive era that that has torn at the fabric of the Arab nation, and shaken the political landscape here in the States. Questions remain, nonetheless.
Here’s a brief outline of news and views from some of the major news outlets…both here at home and abroad. My thoughts will follow in short order.
“As the United States military prepares to leave Iraq by the end of 2011, the Obama administration is planning a remarkable civilian effort, buttressed by a small army of contractors, to fill the void…”
“So the Army is clearing its combat presence and mission out of Baghdad, trying to keep the whole thing low key with no frills under cover of night. Good for the Army for having the sense not to try to celebrate anything. Democracy does not just spring up in this desert, even if you take it by storm as we did seven years ago…”
“Any jubilation in Baghdad at the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom was tempered by anxiety about the future, at a time when the pressures of daily life – including electricity and water shortages made worse by the scorching summer heat – are overwhelming…”
“Nevertheless, this transition offers an opportunity to reflect on what has been accomplished—and what still needs to be done. The debit side of the ledger is plain to see: the dollars spent, the lives shattered. American fatalities are measured in the thousands, Iraqis in the tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands. Yet, like the Londoners of World War II, the Iraqis have shown a wonderful resiliency in the face of carnage…”
“More than five months after the March 7 elections, there is no Iraqi government, and none in sight. And here’s the problem: without some sort of understanding between the United States and Iran, whatever government in Iraq eventually emerges will be hopelessly divided…”
“The withdrawal brings to an end a controversial and bloody operation that began with the American “shock and awe” bombing campaign of Baghdad in March 2003, and saw the US military endure some of the heaviest fighting it had seen for a generation…”
