Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama
If remarks from Defense Secretary Robert Gates are any indication, President Barack Obama is doing the smart thing and taking the high road by honoring the men and women of our armed forces who served in Iraq as the combat mission there comes to an official end.
Unofficially, we know the 50,000 troops left behind will be forced to continue in combat engagement to protect their lives, and the president should be equally honest about that as well. We understand that he inherited these wars, but they are now his responsibility to resolve.
Over the course of our seven year incursion in to Iraq, which was based on false intelligence presented by the Bush Administration, more than 4,400 soldiers have been killed and 34,000 injured. Who knows how many innocent Iraqi civilians have been killed or maimed?
Republicans and some Democrats want to turn this into an argument about President Bush's efforts to surge more troops in to Iraq to help stabilize the country; however, we can't have that discussion with the false intelligence that was used to justify war with Iraq in the first place.
Gates, echoing Obama's likely tone tonight as the president addresses the nation, said that this will not be a Bush-type "Mission Accomplished" speech:
"This is not a time for premature victory parades or self-congratulation, even as we reflect with pride on what our troops and their Iraqi partners have accomplished," Gates told an American Legion audience in Milwaukee, according to the AP. "I am not saying all is, or necessarily will be, well in Iraq."
I think most Americans feel that way.
"Iraq has an opportunity to create a better future for itself and the U.S. is more secure" because of that mission, Obama told troops today at Fort Bliss, Texas.
That said, Obama needs to discuss this country's long-term entanglement with Iraq and how we intend to secure the mess we created.
I want to know when all U.S. troops will be home. I'm also curious about whether troops will be called back in to combat mode.
Here's the response Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gave when asked that question. The AP writes:
Asked if Obama would support sending combat troops back if new waves of violence threatened the country, Gibbs said that Obama had been assured recently by commander Gen. Ray Odierno that such a scenario would be very unlikely. "This is not a victory lap," he said. "You're not going to see any 'Mission Accomplished' banners that will be unfurled."
That middling answer is the very thing the president needs to clear up. An assurance from a U.S. General that a foreign country won't fall into chaos again is not much of an answer.
I'm also concerned that while we are removing troops from Iraq, we are adding them to Afghanistan; approximately 100,000 troops are now in Afghanistan.
Honestly, I don't think most Americans know why we are still in either country other than some vague notion of stopping terrorism. So as President Obama praises the troops, he also needs to explain where America is headed and when our military aggression will come to an end. I'd also like to hear a plan for non-military efforts to stop terrorism.
Americans deserve these answers.