US cruise missiles lit up the skyline of the Iraqi capital with fire. Special operations commandos from the US Central Intelligence Agency’s Special Activities Division from the Northern Iraq Liaison Element had entered Iraq and directly called for the air strikes. The US had invaded Iraq. Why? In the words of an American soldier who was interviewed a day after the invasion, “I wanna take revenge for 9/11.”
More than six years on, Iraq continues to bleed. But Iraq’s dream of achieving freedom from foreign forces seems imminent as US combat troops are scheduled to leave the country’s cities by June 30, 2009. Actually, US troops have already pulled out of almost all the towns. A number of joint US-Iraqi security posts have already been dismantled. Post June 30, the Iraqi streets will no longer be haunted by American patrols. But the US forces will continue to stay in bases situated in close proximity to assist Iraqi forces, in case they get into any mess. The new US President has promised to call back all troops before 2011.
The six-year span under foreign military forces has been a difficult time for the Middle Eastern country. Iraq saw many lows. The war-torn country witnessed a spate of bombings across cities and in the capital, its citizens pining for normal life and safety, children dying of hunger and thirst, US paratroopers seizing its airfields and oil facilities, foreign forces raping its daughters, and most significantly the collapse of Saddam Hussein regime. A crowd of Iraqis cheered when US soldiers brought down a statue of Saddam in central Baghdad.
The American forces captured the charismatic Iraqi leader on December 13, 2003. After facing many trials, the dictator was executed on December 30, 2006 for charges related to the execution of 148 Iraqi Shi’ites suspected of plotting an assassination attempt against him.
‘Mission Accomplished’
The then US president George W Bush landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003 in heroic style to announce the end of major combat operations in the Iraq war. In the background was a banner stating ‘Mission Accomplished’. Ironically, the actual mission of the US had just started and it was to bring stability, democracy and peace in Iraq. The mission was certainly not accomplished as far as promises made by Bush prior to the Iraq war were concerned.
After probing the causes of September 11 attacks, the US bi-partisan 9/11 Commission concluded that Washington’s invasion of Iraq was neither to disarm Iraq of its alleged weapons of mass destruction, nor for Iraq’s alleged ties with al Qaeda. According to unconfirmed reports, the US power controllers – meaning US foreign policy regulators – had their own concealed agenda for invading Iraq. Some argue it was oil that was the key objective behind the assault, while others name Bush’s dream to see Saddam falling as the motivation behind the occupation of Iraq. Whatever the reason may be, Bush had started an offensive that knew no retreat.
Cost of Iraq War
The Bush administration was highly mistaken about the costs of the war. On the eve of the offensive, Bush’s economic adviser and head of the National Economic Council, Larry Lindsey, indicated that the cost of the war might touch USD 200 billion. However, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed the approximation as “baloney”. Rumsfeld and Mitch Daniels, the Office of Management and Budget Director, suggested the costs in the range of USD 50-60 billion.
What Bush initially thought of as an inexpensive conflict is actually turning out to be the most expensive war after the World War II. According to an estimation by Nobel Prize winner Joseph E Stiglitz and Harvard professor Linda J Bilmes, the Iraq war will cost the US whopping USD 3 trillion. The duo have calculated that the cost of direct US military operations sans long-term costs, such as caring for injured veterans, have already bypassed the cost of the 12-year war in Vietnam and is over twofold the cost of the Korean War.
Reports claim that the number of the US soldiers dead in the Iraq war stands at 4,296 as of May 21, 2009.
But Mr Bush could never imagine what Iraq would have to pay for his ‘adventures’. The Iraq Body Count puts the documented civilian deaths from the beginning of Iraq occupation to June 02, 2009 between 92,393 to 100,868. What can the US now do besides regretting?
Thousands of civilians died in Iraq to let the US fight against terrorism. But can the US itself afford to pay such a heavy price? Can the US see its own children being blown up in missile attacks and say sorry? Can America see its thousands of civilians becoming homeless and say they regret? The US was neither destroyed nor occupied. It was attacked on the ill-fated eleventh day of the ninth month in 2001. The terrorist attacks orchestrated by al Qaeda on New York’s World Trade Centre and the Pentagon had claimed 2,974 lives. But now after invading Iraq and, loosely speaking, winning it, can the US ensure its citizens’ safety? US President Barack Obama had always advocated the augmentation of US forces in Afghanistan than Iraq.
Iraq on crutches
As the withdrawal of American troops looms, a fresh spell of violence has rocked Iraq. A huge lorry bomb exploded in Taza on June 20, killing at least 70 people. After two days, at least seven bombs exploded in and around Baghdad, claiming nearly 30 lives. On June 24, another big bomb blast killed at least 70 people in Baghdad. June 26 witnessed a market blast in Baghdad claiming at least 15 lives.
Sectarian attacks were also witnessed in June. Earlier this month, a teenager shot dead Harith al-Obeidi, the head of the main Sunni bloc in Parliament, in a Baghdad mosque. In Mosul, the coach of Iraq’s karate team was gunned down.
Is Iraq unable to stand on its own and fight insurgency? Notably, Iraqi as well as American officials had forecast a swell in attacks as the deadline for the pullout neared. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has termed US troops’ withdrawal from towns as “great victory”. He also assured civilians that the Iraqi forces could take care of their security. “We’re absolutely certain the withdrawal will not make our security worse,” said Maliki.
Besides security, it is imperative for Iraq to concentrate on approving long-delayed parts of significant legislation aimed at rebuilding the nation. The major oil exporter should have stringent laws related to oil and gas, and a force that could keep the country’s important institutions united in the face of any sectarian tension.
Iraqis will cast their crucial ballot in the General Elections scheduled for January 2010. A peaceful election will be key to ushering in democracy in Iraq in the post Saddam Hussein era. A stable government will spell a stable Iraq. The US forces would have to leave in due course, but Iraq has to stand on its own, though wounded, pillaged and plundered. In the absence of any leader who appeals to Iraqis of every ethnic and sectarian hue, one can only hope the crutches of democracy and self confidence help the war-torn country heal its divisions and emerge stronger.
-Agencies