Fading into an Iraqi Sunset: What we did and why we did it

The Iraq war is finally (maybe) winding down; looking back over the last five years, wondering what we accomplished, and if it was worth the effort

It seems as though the Iraq War is finally drawing to a close; American troops will be off the streets by next summer and they’ll be gone all together by 2011.  The agreement signed yesterday by U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and his Iraqi counterpart marks the end of an American era and signals that in many ways the presidency of George W. Bush has come full circle.  It’s been a long time since President Bush stepped on board the U.S.S. Lincoln and gave his “mission accomplished” speech.  The question now is that since the mission seems to really have been accomplished, so what?  Have the American troops in Iraq actually accomplished anything meaningful or has our entire mission been in vain?  The answer to these questions is unfortunately, yet to be seen.  If the United States has been able to create a friendly democracy in the desert then the sacrifice was worthwhile.

The Iraq war was supposedly started in an attempt to get Saddam Hussein to turn over his weapons of mass destruction and submit to the various U.N mandates he had flagrantly violate.  No one really expected to find WMD’s, not because they didn’t exist, but because since the end of the Gulf War Saddam had plenty of time to sell, hide, or actually (not likely) destroy the weapons.  Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were not fools, they knew the chances for finding WMD’s were slim, what they really wanted to do was create an Arab Muslim state that was both friendly to the United States and democratic.  They wanted a state that would serve as an effective counterweight to the anti-American pole led by Iran, and as an economic alternative to the oil fields of Saudi Arabia.  Iraq presented an ideal opportunity for state building: the world’s fourth largest known oil reserves, a relatively well educated population, and a corrupt dictator at the head of government just waiting to be toppled.  American troops went to Iraq not find WMD’s, or to bring Saddam Hussein to justice, but to build a new state; only the success of that state will justify the great sacrifice untaken over the last five years and a half years.

Despite all of the challenges facing Iraq it probably is a better place than it was five and a half years ago, it appears that democracy may actually succeed in Iraq.  The real unknown in the future is whether or not Iraq will indeed be a leader in the Middle East and a champion for American values.  As a matter of history the states occupied by the United States have generally stayed friendly once the troops went home, but the challenges facing an Iraqi/American partnership are unique and it remains to be seen if they can be overcome going forward.  Iran and other anti-American forces will attempt to pull Iraq away from American influence, Iraq will remain a target for terrorist groups, and the fabulous oil wealth in Iraq will in many ways be a hindrance to an emerging market economy.  The future belongs to the people of Iraq, ultimately they will decide whether or not to take the opportunities available to them going forward.