It was a beautiful sight….the last of the combat troops in convoy heading for the Kuwaiti border….bringing an end to the combat phase of the invasion of Iraq……but the US involvement in Iraq is NOT over….but at least for now the combat phase is…..as reported by FOX News……
As the exit of the troops was shown live on TV in the U.S. Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley described the end of combat operations as a “historic moment,” but vowed that America’s long-term commitment was unwavering.
“The last thing that we want to see is an occasion where we have to send troops back into Iraq yet again so we are ending the combat phase of our involvement in Iraq for a second time,” he said.
“We’re not ending our involvement in Iraq. We will have important work to do. This is a transition. This is not the end of something. It’s a transition to something different. We have a long-term commitment to Iraq.”
Like I said a great thing…..but I am concerned that the present lack of a government in Iraq will lead to growing violence and eventually the US will have to return to restore order….well what passes for order……
I am also concerned that the “theory of recurrent cycles” will once again become the order of the day….it has been there from the beginning of Iraq as a country…if it does then American forces will be returning to the desert…the heat….and the violence that is Iraq.
I must admit, although I applaud the sentiments expressed in your Fox News quote, I find that fairly hard to equate with any version of reality of which I’m aware.
Before the principally US/UK invasion of Iraq in 2003, although somewhat damaged by various economic “sanctions” over the previous decade, Iraq was nevertheless a relatively modern, wealthy, technologically advanced and forward looking state, but controlled by an often brutal and partisan regime lead by Saddam Hussein.
Now it is a largely destroyed, semi bankrupt, largely feudal state with no agreed overall leader at all.
I do hope the US doesn’t go back in there…
👿
We will be drawn back just as sure as we will have coffee this morning…..democracy will most likely NOT work in IRaq, at least in this generation.
What democracy? So far they managed to elect… er… no one! The “people’s choices” such as they are can’t, or won’t, as I understand it, work with each other.
Sounds like a good recipe for success 🙁
But at least they had an election…..that will be the argument……but I agree with you….the country will fall into chaos and another heavy will come out of the BS and we will be off to the races again….
Exactly
Shall we wager on how long it takes for this to happen?
Not a wager I’d like to contemplate… it would depend entirely on what Western interests were being threatened at the time, or alternatively how much the arms industry had paid to have it escalate again
Iran has a vested interests….AQ has a vested interest….I give it 6 months.