The U.S. Achieves Success in the Middle East Because of the Iraqi War

On August 29th, Beijing Time, American President Barack Obama announced in his weekly radio addresses and on the internet that the War in Iraq is “ending.” The media assumes that this was merely a preview of Obama’s formal speech on August 31st, which revolved around the successes and failures from America’s seven plus years fighting the War in Iraq. That night, on the television program “Common Concerns,” CCTV commentator Ma Xiaolin stated that America has already succeeded in the Middle East through the War in Iraq. Because the U.S. fought a non-traditional war, it is difficult for them to have a clear time table. Further, he pointed out that, with U.S. troops still in Iraq, insurgents will not be able to pull off any significant disruptions or disorder; however, little problems will continue to persist.

When asked how he feels about Obama’s opinion of the Iraqi War, Ma Xiaolin pointed out, Obama is a critic of the War in Iraq and, naturally, he would not label the War in Iraq as a “success,” though he will also not directly criticize its failure. From the U.S.’s National Strategic point of view, the seven year war was a success; it can be said that America has gained many things, but that they also lost much. Ma Xiaolin used these to explain that through the War in Iraq, the U.S. has already completely rewritten the political map of the Middle East. It has not only subverted the hated Saddam regime, but has also established a new Iraq with the U.S. as its model. In the same year the war started, the U.S. had forced Libya to give up its weapons of mass destruction. Two years later, the U.S. forced Syria to end their military presence in Lebanon. These changes are a result of the intimidation effect and deterrence posture the US had because they started the War in Iraq. Looking at this from a larger perspective, today – from Turkey to the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula in Oman; from Egypt in North Africa to the Persian Gulf – American allied countries and U.S. military bases are everywhere. Not to mention many Middle Eastern countries have signed a military cooperation treaty with America. It can also be said that the U.S. has never been in this position before, being spread out in such a large area and deeply present in the Middle East.

Ma Xiaolin believes that even though the U.S. has gained much, that they have also lost a significant amount: $700 billion (USD), more than 4000 young soldiers and nearly ten thousand disabled soldiers. The war has fueled America’s economic difficulties and is even fueling the U.S.’s economic decline. This war also caused the deaths of several million Iraqis, causing these people to suffer even more than before and causing a great blow to humanitarianism. From a humanitarian point of view, by starting this war, the U.S. has also dealt a serious blow to America’s soft power and international reputation.

Ma Xiaolin went on to discuss the notion of the War in Iraq “ending.” U.S. troops were trapped in a non-traditional style of warfare; therefore, it’s hard to say that there is a set standard to determine if the war is completely over. The U.S. subverted the Saddam regime and then established a new U.S.-styled government, but, at the same time, they faced a new war – domestic and foreign anti-American enemies that are against the current three branch Iraq political system, a system that is not internationally recognized. In this war, they, like the U.S. troops, have no set battle ground, there is no front or rear; they do not even have a general sense of the rules of war. Under these circumstances, the U.S. has no way of finding enemy leaders with whom they can negotiate a cease fire. There is no traditional enemy country, no party that surrenders or draws, they cannot sign a cease fire treaty or restore normal diplomatic relations to signify the end of the war. This type of result is difficult to achieve in Iraq, because U.S. and Iraqi governments both want to extinguish or kick out domestic rebel forces, but these forces not only want to subvert the Iraqi government, but also want to drag the U.S. into the quagmire of this war, deplete the U.S.’s resources and impede American goals at every turn. From America’s opponents’ points of view, they do not want this war to end, so it is difficult for the U.S. to officially announce the end of the war. Also from a realistic point of view, Obama wants to leave room to allow for the possibility of a large-scale return to war, thus he said that the war is “ending”, not that it has “ended”.

While discussing the great withdrawal of U.S. combat troops, Ma Xiaolin pointed out that the statement about the U.S. evacuating their combat troops should be corrected. U.S. troops appear to be withdrawing; however, in actuality combat troops are not being completely withdrawn. 50,000 soldiers still remain, and they have three main tasks: first, to combat terrorists; second, to help the reconstruction of the provincial government; and third, to train Iraqi security forces. On the topic of fighting terrorism, anti-terrorism forces in any country cannot fight unarmed: they must be combat-ready. Moreover, in Iraq there are a great number of private security personnel, about 2,700. Reportedly after U.S. troops evacuate, the number of private security personnel will increase to 6,000-7,000. The French media reports that America will hire 60,000 foreigners to help the Iraqi’s maintain order in Iraq. Also the U.S. still has 90 plus military bases in Iraq, as well as large quantities of weaponry and equipment. Not to mention an American general has already stated that, if needed, they may at any time return to Iraq. From this perspective, sometime in the near future – at least within the first year – the U.S. will still be playing a major role in maintaining order. Although the 700,000 Iraqi security forces – which have been continuously growing for the past seven years – are taking on a bigger role, the U.S. withdrawing their combat troops will give the Iraqis even more opportunities.

In the end Ma Xiaolin believes that Iraq will need to rely on its own people to maintain order. If the Shias and Sunnis, Arabs and Kurds can maintain a posture of level-headedness – can avoid splitting the country in two, avoid civil war, withstand domestic and foreign attempts to subvert the new government, and not cause Iraq to sink into greater civil strife – then they should be able to achieve their goal. Iraqi’s generally do not like war and they despise the disorder and destruction. And even though they do not like Americans, they do not want to go back to the time of Saddam’s reign. Therefore, if the Iraqi government takes charge and Iraqi forces assume responsibility for protecting their country and people, then the situation in Iraq will improve. What we can be certain of is that major civil war in Iraq is unlikely to occur. However, smaller conflicts, bombings, attacks etc. will continue to cause disorder for many years to come.