ASHLAND —
The Obama administration has all but declared America’s combat role in the war in Iraq over.
Seven years after President George W. Bush stood on an aircraft carrier beneath a large banner boldly proclaiming “Mission Accomplished” and boasted that the major combat operations in Iraq had ended, President Barack Obama sat quietly in the Oval Office Tuesday night to announce the formal end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq.
“It’s time to turn the page,” Obama said in only his second speech from the Oval Office since becoming president.
"The bottom line is this: The war is ending," the president declared in his Saturday radio address, renewing his pledge to have all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011. Fewer than 50,000 are there now, down from the war's high of 170,000.
We hope the president is right, that the war is coming to a close and that the Iraqi government we leave behind is fully capable of looking after itself. But nothing during the course of our more-than-seven-year stay in Iraq suggests that departing will be that easy.
In one sense, President Bush was right seven years ago when he said the “major combat operations” had ended in Iraq, The government of Saddam Hussein had fallen and that there would be no more large units maneuvering against Iraqi regulars. But the worst fighting and the majority of U.S. deaths — now more than 4,400 — were still to come.
When President Obama now says there will be no more "formal combat operations" by U.S. toops in Iraq, he means that the American troops remaining will be either reactive or in support of Iraqi troops. It will still be combat.
Many challenges remain in Iraq. Six months after the elections, Iraq still has no government. There is still no law on how the oil revenues will be divided among the country's competing claimants. The Shiite militias and the Sunni insurgents have been quiet, but by no means have they disbanded. An al-Qaida-linked terrorist group killed 56 people last week in a series of coordinated bombings. Tuesday night, Obama pressed Iraq’s leaders, saying it was time to show urgency and be accountable.
What if the Iraqis ask the U.S military to stay on? After all, the Iraqis' top military commander thinks U.S. forces will be needed for another 10 years. The Obama administration has not addressed this question — at least not publicly,
One of the reasons the Bush administration doggedly pursued the war after it became clear we were there on false premises was to put to rest the Vietnam-related canard that if the going got tough enough the U.S. would cut and run.
At the same time he was assuring Americans that America’s military mission in Iraq was finally winding down, President Obama promised Iraq that the U.S. will not abandon it. “Our combat mission is ending but out commitment to Iraq’s future is not,” he said.
And of course at the same time our military operation is winding down in Iraq, it is escalating in Afghanistan. Indeed, the president said Tuesday night that the reduced miliary role in Iraq would enable the United States to “apply the resources to go on the offense” in Afghanistan.
In sharp contrast to President Bush’s premature celebration on that aircraft carrier, Obama’s announcement was no victory celebration. Our hope is that the promises President Obama made Tuesday night will be fulfilled much sooner that the ones President Bush made in 2003.
Editorials
All but over
Questions remain as combat mission in Iraq nears an end
- Editorials
-
-
Focus on music
There will be no new trophies for winning marching band competitions for the Boyd County High School band. Nor will band members be spending as many summer days in the hot sun in band camp and autumn Saturdays taking long bus drives to compete in band festivals in distant communities.
-
Memorial Day
Unlike our other wars, the American people were never asked to sacrifice for the war in Iraq and the one still ongoing in Afghanistan. They have been wars fought by an all-voluntary military and by the “weekend soldiers” in the National Guard and in the Army, Navy and Air Force Reserve
-
Still more cuts
If you believe the cuts mandated by the two-year state budget that will take effect July 1 will have little impact on services, consider this.
-
Earmarks again?
Immediately, following the midterm elections of 2010 which saw Republicans regain control of the House of Representatives and capture seats in the U.S. Senate, Republican leaders in Congress announced they had heard the voice of the voters and vowed to cease using “earmarks,” the name given to appropriations slipped into bills by influential legislators without a vote.
-
Best in the nation
It may surprise many readers that Newsweek’s “best high school in America” is located right here in Kentucky and is open to selected students throughout the state, but then the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green is hardly your typical high school. In fact, it would be impossible for even the best public high schools to emulate the amazing success of students at the Gatton Academy.
-
After the vote
We offer today a few reflections on the messages voters sent in Tuesday’s primary election in Kentucky.
-
A mild winter
As we approach the Memorial Day weekend, long hailed as the unofficial start of the summer vacation season, we pause to reflect upon the winter that wasn’t.
-
Devices banned
Emergency breathing devices that tests have proven unreliable are being phased out under a directive issued by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. However, MSHA has given mine operators more than 18 months to remove all the air packs from underground mines.
-
A free weekend
In an effort to promote increased recreational use of the two lakes in the Daniel Boone National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service will offer free fishing and boating during the first weekend in June.
-
Ho-hum election
Psst! Want to know a secret? There’s a primary election Tuesday. And it’s right here in Kentucky! However, there has been so little interest in this election, that Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, the state’s top election official, is predicting that only betwixen 10 and 12 percent of the state’s eligible voters will take the time to go to the polls tomorrow.
- More Editorials Headlines
-
Focus on music
90 Guns Seized, Dozens Arrested in Oakland
Raw Video: Hail Storm Batters Oklahoma City
6-Year-Old Going to National Spelling Bee
California's Foie Gras Ban About to Begin
Video Essay: Funky Winkerbean Comic Turns 40
Hurricane Andrew Remembered, 20 Years Later
Judge's Ruling Halts Tenn. Mosque Construction
Romney in Las Vegas on Texas Primary Day
Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing
Even Fla. Police Shocked by Face-Mauling Attack
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
