Obama Announces U.S. Departure from Iraq by End of 2011
Published in Le Monde
(France) on 21 October 2011
by (link to original)
American President Barak Obama announced on Friday, October 21 that the American troops still stationed in Iraq would leave the country by the end of the year. “Today, I can report that as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year. After nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over,” said Mr. Obama during a speech at the White House.
Since the end of the United States’ combat operations in 2010, 39,000 American soldiers have remained stationed in Iraq. Over 4,408 American soldiers have lost their lives since the beginning of these operations in March 2003, according to the numbers published by the Department of Defense.
An Agreement Going Back to 2008
The announcement by the American head of state took place after a video conference between him and Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the failure of negotiations aimed to keep American troops in place. The troops’ end of the year departure date was the subject of an agreement between the two countries in 2008. The agreement had already been negotiated under George W. Bush’s administration, but Washington and Baghdad negotiated in the end to maintain a contingent of several thousand men to train Iraqi soldiers.
As the Washington Post pointed out, the negotiations faltered over the legal status of American troops after 2011, among other things. Washington insisted on total immunity for its military, shielding them from all legal proceedings in Iraq, which Baghdad refused.
Mr. Obama’s announcement was followed the next day by the “deactivation” of the Northern division of the American military operations in Iraq, which is at the heart of the conflict between the country’s central authorities and the autonomous region of Kurdistan. This conflict is often presented by the Americans as one of the principle risks affecting Iraq’s long-term stability. Mr. Obama announced that Mr. al-Maliki had surrendered to the White House in December, when the two countries took up normal relations between sovereign states. The United States still holds 19 bases in the country.
“An Eye on Iran”
Mr. Obama reiterated that he had campaigned in 2008 against his country’s intervention in Baghdad. He has since then sent tens of thousands of reinforcement troops to Afghanistan, the first of which are preparing to leave the country in order to transfer security operations to Afghan forces. “The United States is moving forward from a position of strength,” the American president assured. “The long war in Iraq will come to an end by the end of this year. The transition in Afghanistan is moving forward, and our troops are finally coming home.”
As soon as the troops’ departure was made public, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid indicated that he supported Obama’s decision to remove all American troops from Iraq. When questioned about the increased possibility of Iranian influence in Iraq after the Americans’ departure, Mr. Reid assured listeners that the United States was “keeping a real close eye on Iran,” and that would still be true after the American departure.
On the other hand, the president’s decision is not to the liking of several elected Republicans, notably those familiar with defense issues. “I hope I am wrong and the President is right, but I fear this decision has set in motion events that will come back to haunt our country,” declared Lindsey Graham.
George W. Bush launched the invasion of Iraq in 2003 without the approval of the United Nations. Officially, he hoped to render harmless the weapons of mass destruction that the dictator, Saddam Hussein, supposedly possessed. These arms were never found and Saddam Hussein was finally captured by the American army in December 2003 and executed by Iraqi courts in 2006.
Since the end of the United States’ combat operations in 2010, 39,000 American soldiers have remained stationed in Iraq. Over 4,408 American soldiers have lost their lives since the beginning of these operations in March 2003, according to the numbers published by the Department of Defense.
An Agreement Going Back to 2008
The announcement by the American head of state took place after a video conference between him and Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the failure of negotiations aimed to keep American troops in place. The troops’ end of the year departure date was the subject of an agreement between the two countries in 2008. The agreement had already been negotiated under George W. Bush’s administration, but Washington and Baghdad negotiated in the end to maintain a contingent of several thousand men to train Iraqi soldiers.
As the Washington Post pointed out, the negotiations faltered over the legal status of American troops after 2011, among other things. Washington insisted on total immunity for its military, shielding them from all legal proceedings in Iraq, which Baghdad refused.
Mr. Obama’s announcement was followed the next day by the “deactivation” of the Northern division of the American military operations in Iraq, which is at the heart of the conflict between the country’s central authorities and the autonomous region of Kurdistan. This conflict is often presented by the Americans as one of the principle risks affecting Iraq’s long-term stability. Mr. Obama announced that Mr. al-Maliki had surrendered to the White House in December, when the two countries took up normal relations between sovereign states. The United States still holds 19 bases in the country.
“An Eye on Iran”
Mr. Obama reiterated that he had campaigned in 2008 against his country’s intervention in Baghdad. He has since then sent tens of thousands of reinforcement troops to Afghanistan, the first of which are preparing to leave the country in order to transfer security operations to Afghan forces. “The United States is moving forward from a position of strength,” the American president assured. “The long war in Iraq will come to an end by the end of this year. The transition in Afghanistan is moving forward, and our troops are finally coming home.”
As soon as the troops’ departure was made public, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid indicated that he supported Obama’s decision to remove all American troops from Iraq. When questioned about the increased possibility of Iranian influence in Iraq after the Americans’ departure, Mr. Reid assured listeners that the United States was “keeping a real close eye on Iran,” and that would still be true after the American departure.
On the other hand, the president’s decision is not to the liking of several elected Republicans, notably those familiar with defense issues. “I hope I am wrong and the President is right, but I fear this decision has set in motion events that will come back to haunt our country,” declared Lindsey Graham.
George W. Bush launched the invasion of Iraq in 2003 without the approval of the United Nations. Officially, he hoped to render harmless the weapons of mass destruction that the dictator, Saddam Hussein, supposedly possessed. These arms were never found and Saddam Hussein was finally captured by the American army in December 2003 and executed by Iraqi courts in 2006.