In a move met with mixed reactions, President Barack Obama announced on Friday that all the troops in Iraq would be home by the end of 2011.
This brings an end to a war that is one of the longest in U.S. history, and fueled the rise of Obama.
Cast as an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq, Obama opposed the war from the beginning — even though he didn’t take a tough vote on whether to invade the country or not. He was still on the state Senate in 2003 when America put boots on the ground in Iraq.
Little did Obama know that he would be calling the shots for the same war. This played a deciding factor to his view on the war. He initially wanted to bring the troops home much earlier than 2011, but realities in the Middle East did not allow for that.
This decision plays in the president’s favor. He is keeping a 2008 campaign promise to wind down the Iraq war and doing so at a time when the 2012 presidential election is picking up steam.
Plus, the president holds political cover due to an agreement former President George W. Bush made that required all troops to come home by the end of this year. The GOP took aim at this decision — as they have with just about every remark Obama has ever made — and cast what some may call hypocritical criticism; the main concern being it is too soon.
However, if we follow this line of thinking, an important question comes up: Exactly when would be a good time to leave? The region has been in turmoil for longer than most of us have been alive.
Soldiers and citizens may be frustrated that we are leaving before our mission is complete. Perhaps we can cast this in a different light though. If we leave, Iraq has a real chance to take responsibility for its democracy rather than using the U.S. as a crutch.
There are also real concerns that Iran may be hostile toward Iraq, but there will still be 23,000 troops in Kuwait, which is just south of Iraq. We can be tentatively hopeful about a smooth transition with U.S. troops so close and a firm resolve to ensure Iraq succeeds.
There is a large degree of uncertainty in a region mired in disagreements that go back decades.
The utmost importance of this decision though is that we operate with not only our country’s best interest in mind, but that we also ensure 4,400 deaths were not in vain and that Iraq becomes a beacon of democracy in such a chaotic region for the world.
This is a real test of the training of Iraqi forces should Iran invade Iraq, but hopefully the presence of U.S. troops in Kuwait will deter them.
Arab Spring, the democracy movement sweeping the Middle East, gave us hope that legitimate, fair governments would replace dictators. The withdrawal of troops from Iraq presents another opportunity for the same process. Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
