Iraq Withdrawal Endangered
Published in Frankfurter Rundschau
(Germany) on 26 April 2009
by Andreas Schwarzkopf (link to
original)
Since the recent devastating suicide attacks in Iraq, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comments are beginning to sound like rallying cries. During her visit to Iraq, she assured the country of America’s unwavering support – even in the worst of times – but nonetheless is sticking to America’s strategy of responsible withdrawal. What else could she say?
The bottom line is that her boss, President Barack Obama, promised the war-weary American people during his campaign that the troops would be brought home. Keeping that promise is proving to be more difficult and not as quickly accomplished as planned. The attacks were the bloodiest in nearly a year and are seen as the opening shot in a new season of violence. The causes of the violence are the as yet unsolved problems of rebuilding the nation, the ever-increasing disagreements over the sharing of oil reserves and the absence of a national reconciliation process.
All this will tie the United States military down in Iraq longer than U.S. planners had thought. That, in turn, endangers America’s new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy where the United States hopes a troop surge will pacify the situation. The outlook isn’t bright for anyone.
The bottom line is that her boss, President Barack Obama, promised the war-weary American people during his campaign that the troops would be brought home. Keeping that promise is proving to be more difficult and not as quickly accomplished as planned. The attacks were the bloodiest in nearly a year and are seen as the opening shot in a new season of violence. The causes of the violence are the as yet unsolved problems of rebuilding the nation, the ever-increasing disagreements over the sharing of oil reserves and the absence of a national reconciliation process.
All this will tie the United States military down in Iraq longer than U.S. planners had thought. That, in turn, endangers America’s new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy where the United States hopes a troop surge will pacify the situation. The outlook isn’t bright for anyone.