The American Escape

First, we believe that the withdrawal of American combat forces from Iraq is essentially an escape, especially if we consider the way in which this withdrawal was completed — two weeks before the determined date, quickly and against the pleas of Iraqi officials. In addition to how it was completed, the combat precautions taken during the withdrawal to Kuwait, as if there were a real state of engagement with the resistance, prove that this withdrawal of theirs is merely an escape from the quagmire in which they have become stuck.

Secondly, this withdrawal comes after it became impossible for these forces to achieve the victory that Bush had promised. Later, the withdrawal became part of Obama’s electoral campaign, which earned him a victory over Bush. Now, this withdrawal is a part of the current American administration’s plan to confront the Republicans in the mid-term congressional elections in the coming fall.

Here it is necessary to recall the Hamilton-Baker Report, which was written at the behest of Bush. The report advised the withdrawal of these forces after they had failed to realize victory and stability in Iraq.

Third: Washington failed to achieve all that it promised the Iraqi people. Washington did not achieve democracy, and the modern secular state did not rise. The statistics show that the Iraq people are living in a real tragedy and in conditions closer to those of the medieval ages.

According to a report from Johns Hopkins University, the occupation left 655,000 dead, roughly 3 percent of the population, while the Iraqi statistics indicate the accurate size of the disaster caused by the occupation surpasses any description.

In terms of numbers, the occupation left 1.5 million killed, 2 million injured, 5 million displaced, 1.5 million widowed, 5 million orphaned.

From another perspective, the Global Peace Index published June 2009 reveals that, of all the countries in the world, Iraq is the most unstable.

Fourthly, some analysts see that this withdrawal, which is closer to an escape, as a means for American forces to escape from a trap. Were war to break out between America and Iran, these forces would become an ideal target for Iran’s allies in Iraq, and they are many.

Fifthly, Washington failed to establish a government in Iraq. It is certainly an indication of the failures of American policies in Iraq that five months after the elections, the American president sought aid from al-Sistani. This is a contradiction worth considering. In order to escape from a rather tight spot, Washington sought his help in pressuring the leading parties and in forming a coalition government. He did not participate in the withdrawal from Iraq, or more precisely, the escaping the land of the Rafideen.

In conclusion, the American withdrawal from Iraq was not a product of previous agreements. Rather, it comes as a response to recent events and circumstances. Without hoisting the banner of victory, Washington has fled the field of battle, also without announcing the end of the war, but that’s another story altogether.