U.S. Withdraws Troops from Iraq

The combat mission in Iraq, whether it was a success or failure, seems to be coming to an end as promised by President Obama.

The last U.S. combat troops remaining in Iraq have begun to gradually leave the country two weeks ahead of schedule, symbolizing an end to a war that lasted more than seven years.

Americans remain divided, just as they were before the conflict began, on whether or not the cost of the war outweighs the benefits. According to President Obama’s timeline (recent polls indicate that 50 percent of U.S. citizens disapprove of his administration), 50,000 troops will remain in Iraq to train local security forces and to provide support on anti-terrorist operations.

Former President George W. Bush’s decision to use military force against Saddam Hussein, based on the pretense that he possessed weapons of mass destruction, divided the country and turned a large part of the world against the U.S. While Iraq slowly emerges from a lengthy and bloody war, amidst promising signs of stability and a fragile government gaining confidence, the question that arises is whether the mission was a strategic success, failure or a mixture of both.

Those who supported the war maintain that overthrowing Saddam — the dictator that started a war with Iran, invaded Kuwait and supposedly tried to produce weapons of mass destruction — allowed the establishment of a democratic government that is friendly with Washington, which is a good outcome. In turn, those against the war hold that the price paid in human lives — which the supporters of the war overlook — is devastating, considering that more than 4,400 U.S. soldiers died in the conflict and, even though there are no official figures, it is estimated that there have been more than 100,000 Iraqi civilian casualties. The financial burden is substantial as well, since the cost to U.S. taxpayers is over a billion dollars. In any case, even if the level of violence has dropped since 2006-2007, Iraq faces a challenging road ahead since terrorism attempts continue and there are casualties on a weekly basis.

In the end, only history will tell if this armed conflict was a success or failure. It has to be reiterated once more that war can never be the way to resolve conflict because war is always a failure of humanity.