US leave Iraq after nine years

- Anil Narendra

Nine years after the war to remove Saddam Hussain from power, the last of the US troops stationed in Iraq crossed the Iraqi border and entered Kuwait. With this, the occupation of Iraq by US has virtually come to an end. With the lowering of US flag in a simple ceremony, the nine year old US operations stopped. What an irony, when the last batch of US troops was leaving Iraq, the Iraqi soldiers were resting in their barracks. The Iraqi troops, which fought the 'war on terror' in alliance with the US troops, were relieved to see the US leaving their country. Now, only a few hundred marines are left at the US Embassy in Iraq. Once, there were about 170 thousand US troops stationed at 505 bases all over the Iraq. After stepping down from his vehicle at Kuwait, Sergeant Human Austin said that it was 'really good to step out of Iraq'. During the 'War on terror and destruction of mass destruction weapons' launched by the former US President, George Bush II, about 4,500 US troops lost their lives and about 100 thousand Iraqi civilians were killed. Besides, this devastating war led US to the brink of bankruptcy and the US treasury had to shell out a hefty sum of $ 800 billion. About 175 million Iraqis were displaced. With the return of the troops, concerns are being expressed about the return of communal tensions, violence and political instability in Iraq. US is patting its back. US Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta has said that after blood-shedding of US and Iraqi citizens, ultimately, the objective of self-governance by Iraqis and ensuring their national security has been achieved. Saddam Husaain was hanged, but at what cost? Now, Iraq is more instable and state of political uncertainty continues to hound Iraqis. It is still to overcome the problems of Sunni-Shia conflicts, critical power sharing, corruption and weak economy. Al Qaeda has established its headquarters at Fazulka in Iraq, where the withdrawal of US troops was celebrated with enthusiasm. During rallies people burnt American flags and waved photos of their relatives killed during the war. President Barak Obama told Nouri al-Maliki, Prime Minister of Iraq that Washington would continue to be Iraq's royal partner, even after the return of its troops. Even today, we fail to understand that why did Bush invaded Iraq. It was said that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and these weapons must be seized, but not a single such weapon or weapon-producing factory could be unearthed in Iraq, which could have supported the allegations made by the US. Neither a single nuclear weapon could be found in Iraq, nor could the people of Iraq be 'liberated'. Instead, rebellion against the 'invading forces' in Iraq continued till the last of the foreign troops left the country secretly. Was America afraid of attack on its retreating troops by the rebels? The fact is that US could not win this war, nor it was able to achieve a political victory. Instead, those, who  were supporting the US in its war, also left it in the lurch. The new rulers who came to power with the indirect US support, too, were unable to follow US directions till long. It appears that US has lost Iraq. The fact is that Washington had never been able to win over Baghdad. Does it mean that Iraqis have won the war against foreign occupation? Does it mean that US military operation has met the same fate in Iraq, as it had in Vietnam? No doubt, US claim to have won this war, but in fact, it has faced a defeat here too. At least it has failed to achieve the objective, with which in mind, it had invaded Iraq. Perhaps, today, the most important challenge before Iraq is to bring stability, political stability, economic stability to the country and this will not be an easy task. The US military operations in Iraq have led to increase in militancy in whole of the Middle East. Al Qaeda got an opportunity to spread its tentacles. Then, the Sunni, Shia and Kurd struggles too, got momentum. Iraq of today, has been divided into several power centres. In fact in Iraq, nothing is left in the name of Iraqi nationalism. The Americans have left behind a divided Iraqi society. They have also left behind weapons worth $ 300 million for possible use by Iraqi Army, as the cost of taking these to Afghanistan or back to America could have been exorbitant. From US's point of view, President Barak Obama has undoubtedly kept his promise. During his Presidential election campaign, he had launched an anti-Iraq war campaign and he has fulfilled his promise much before the 2012 Presidential election campaign. It is hoped that with the conclusion of this devastating military operation in Iraq, the US economy would receive some healing touch and also the burden it was feeling since long, would mitigate to some extent. But the American history would definitely ask what gains did America make in this Iraq operation and what were its losses? Was George Bush a hero or was he a villain?