Then-President George W. Bush declared “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq, and then proceeded to keep the war going for the remaining five and a half years of his presidency. In a speech today at Camp Lajeune, North Carolina took a page out of his predecessor’s book when he declared that “by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end,” even as his administration prepares to keep the combat going until at least the end of 2011.
His administration has been touting a military surge in Afghanistan which would bring the overall American force to roughly 50,000 troops. That is taking a war to the next level. Bringing the level of troops in Iraq to roughly the same level, somehow, is being sold to the public as the end of that war. Will anyone buy it?
It doesn’t appear to be the case, as many Congressmen from Obama’s own party are condemning the move. The only ones who seem satisfied with the plan and the 50,000 “residual” troops that will be engaging in combat operations after the administration’s official end of combat are hawks who weren’t exactly thrilled with the notion of ending combat in the first place.
But even the conclusion one would get from Obama’s speech, that the August 2010 “end” is really a December 2011 end, as mandated by the Status of Forces Agreement the Bush Administration agreed to last year with the Iraqi government, might not be the end of the matter. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is already talking about what a good idea he thinks it is to keep a “modest US presence” in Iraq after 2012.
Kan'an 48 
I suppose we could be in that region until the end of time and nothing will ever change. The problem is religion, it always has been. Go through world history and you not find a time that peace as been associated with that region of the world.
Right now, our biggest concern needs to be the acquisition of nuclear arms by the extremist in the middle east, especially Iran. Once they have the ability to destroy mass property and populations the United States will be target number 1. Israel will have been destroyed and the Taliban and Hamas will rule the region. Saudi Arabia will join in and will use oil to dictate the economy. Will Obama join in this to declare a one world government, or will he protect our sovereignty by reducing the threat of nuclear armament by the dictators in the middle east?
You can read more of my insights @ politicalhandyman.blogspot.com
I feel compelled to leave a comment. I find myself talking to people about this often, but the fact of the matter is that 50,000 troops in Iraq IS effectively ending the war. The reality of the situation is that even under the best of circumstances there is going to be a heavy American presence in Iraq for the next couple of decades at least. With or without a war. And I’m talking about troops and military infrastructure. The American war machine is such a complicated and large mechanism at this point that what was assembled in eight years is going to take twice that to dismember. The green zone, for example, is going to contain something in the neighborhood of twenty thousand troops on its own for a long, long, time– and that’s even under the best of circumstances…
In about 3 months, there will be a repeat of that event on the Aircraft Carrier when, then President George Bush announced, “..Mission Accomplished.”
This time, it will be President “The Anointed One” who, from the steps of the new York Stock Exchange as the Dow Average hits “ZERO”, will proclaim “–Mission Accomplished. I have ruined the American Economy.”