Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

United States President Barack Obama is scheduled to make a major policy speech today, to mark the end of combat operations in Iraq and underscore his administration’s fulfilled promise in that regard.

In a relatively rare televised speech from the Oval Office, Mr. Obama will argue that since he assumed office, the White House has brought nearly 100,000 U.S. troops home from Iraq, and “millions of pieces of equipment have been removed, and hundreds of bases have been closed or transferred to Iraqi Security Forces”.

However in a curtain-raiser to his speech he emphasised that although the U.S.’ combat mission in Iraq was ending, its “commitment to an Iraq that is sovereign, stable and self-reliant continues”. Mr. Obama added that as the mission in Iraq changed from combat to “advise and assist”, 50,000 U.S. troops would remain in Iraq even as Iraqi Security Forces assumed full responsibility for the security of their country from September 1 onwards.

Seeking to dispel any fears that the U.S. would be washing its hands of the country, Mr. Obama said, “We will forge a strong partnership with an Iraq that still faces enduring challenges.”

“Nation at war”

Admitting that for nearly a decade, the U.S. had been a “nation at war” and that the war in Iraq had “at times divided us”, he however added that one thing all Americans could agree upon was that “our brave men and women in uniform... have put their lives on the line and endured long separations from their family and loved ones”.

With the November Congressional elections around the corner, Mr. Obama may seek to capture some of the political capital that the return of troops and the end of an expensive military campaign will afford. However, critics have pointed out that Iraq is still rocked by waves of political violence and insurgent networks have been “battered but not defeated”.

In this context, James Phillips and Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation argued that in order to prevent further deterioration in the situation the President “should signal that the U.S. remains firmly engaged as a dependable ally of Iraq and dispel the growing perception that Washington is intent on a quick exit regardless of the dangerous consequences of such a gamble”.

They further said that the President should make every effort to avoid squandering the hard-won security gains of the surge by withdrawing too many troops too fast. “Iraq still needs substantial U.S. military, diplomatic, and political support to defeat various insurgent groups, stave off a possible return to civil war, and contain Iran’s expanding influence,” they noted.

Labels: Iraq combat operations, Iraq war, President Barack Obama