End of the Iraq War: The Challenges that Pile Up Even After the Evacuation of American Soldiers

Eight years and nine months have passed since the start of the war against Iraq. America has finally put a historical end to the Iraq War.

During a welcome ceremony for returning soldiers at a North Carolina military base, President Obama announced the “end of the war.” The president criticized the war that former president Bush started as a “dumb war,” and in the 2008 presidential election, made a public commitment to an early-stage evacuation and was elected.

Before long, the last of the American troops will have finished withdrawing and a full evacuation by the end of 2011 will be realized, as promised after Obama’s inauguration.

The price America paid is excessively large. Without finding the weapons of mass destruction they had started the war for, they caused chaos through their occupation and wounded the nation’s dignity. Thanks to these giant war expenditures, the budget deficit has swelled and the lives of nearly 4,500 American soldiers have been lost.

Even so, the president has stressed in speech how “[they] are leaving behind a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government that was elected by its people” and how it was “an extraordinary achievement.”

The problem is, without the support of American troops, one wonders if this achievement in Iraq will still take hold and be developed. The challenges are piling up.

After Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship collapsed in the war, the situation has taken a turn for the worse, with the confrontation between the Shia Islam group and the Sunni group occasionally leading to armed conflict and terrorism.

Even now there are many ordinary citizens who are becoming victims of terrorism. The evacuation of American troops will allow terrorist organizations to gather their strength and invite fear and corruption of the public order.

As conflict within the sects and the nation continue, reconciliation with citizens is urgently important. Prime Minister Al-Maliki’s political power, the foundation that has supported Shia Islam’s might, is fragile.

With the introduction of the withdrawal, neighboring country Iran, a major power for Shia Islam, also has the possibility of strengthening its influence toward Iraq.

If the state of affairs in Iraq becomes chaotic again, the entire region will be heavily impacted.

The responsibility America has toward Iraq and the future of the Middle East is great. From now on, not only must the U.S. cooperate in guaranteeing safety such as through training Iraqi troops, but it is also essential for the U.S. to help Iraq become a responsible, major regional power by working on their diplomacy.

In a November conference with Prime Minister Al-Maliki, Japanese Prime Minister Noda had an obvious intention of giving an international loan of approximately 67 billion yen for various plans, including one to improve Iraq’s oil refinery. It was an instrumental advancement of the relationship between the two countries.

For Japan, who depends on the Middle East for 90 percent of its total crude oil imports, the stability of Iraq is extremely important.

Through means such as the Official Development Assistance (ODA), I would like for economic and business relationships to heighten alongside development aid.