August 31, 2010 is President Obama’s stated deadline for completing the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq. Some press reports issued today suggest that the withdrawal was completed yesterday, August 18, almost two weeks ahead of schedule.
A concerned US citizen might well ask: So are we out or not?
It depends on what you mean by “out”. Regular Marine troops left Iraq in January. Yesterday, the last US Army brigade — the 4th Stryker Brigade — pulled out. Rather than flying out like most departing US troops, the Stryker Brigade drove 500 miles across Iraq, crossing the border into Kuwait, reversing the path they took when they invaded Iraq in 2003.
The 4th Stryker Brigade was the last full US Army combat brigade in Iraq. So now the US has zero regular Army brigades there. If that’s what “out” means, we are out.
However, many smaller Army combat units — about 6000 troops total — remain in Iraq, and according to the Pentagon, will stay there until the Aug 31 deadline.
Concerned US citizen: So on September 1, when those remaining combat troops leave, will we then be really and truly out of Iraq?
Not exactly. About 50,000 US Army troops will stay there for at least a year, supposedly in non-combat peacekeeping, advisory, and training roles. They will have weapons and will use them to defend themselves. If invited by Iraqi forces, they will even participate in missions. Is that non-combatant? Your call.
Concerned US citizen: But aside from these peacekeepers, the US will have no combat forces in Iraq after August 31, correct?
Incorrect. The deadline is for withdrawal of regular combat troops. According to press reports, Special Forces troops will remain in Iraq to “help the Iraqis hunt terrorists”. Drones, helicopters, and planes supporting the Special Forces will probably continue to patrol — and attack — from the sky. So even after the deadline, some US combat troops will still be in Iraq.
Concerned US citizen: So how can anyone say the deadline is being met?
Dunno. You tell me.
By the way, even if we could really declare the Iraq War “over” now (which we can’t), let’s consider how long it has lasted: seven years. Longer than WWII lasted. Recall also that three months into the Iraq war, then-President Bush stood on an aircraft carrier and declared that “major combat operations had ended“. Before that, Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld — one of the main proponents of invading Iraq — estimated that the war would last “six days, six weeks, I doubt six months“. Seven years and over 4400 US troop deaths and at least 100000 Iraqi deaths laber, here we are.
News Reports of Troop Withdrawal
- Associated Press (short): Last U.S. combat troops leave Iraq
- Associated Press (long): Goodbye Iraq: Last US combat brigade heads home
- CBS News (long): Leaving Iraq: Last U.S. Combat Brigade Departs
- Newsweek: Not the End: The departure of the last “combat troops” from Iraq is hardly the end of American combat there
Related PeacePundit Posts
- One Day of Iraq War = $720 million
- McClellan: Bush Mislead Public about Iraq War
- Major Combat Operations… Ended?
- Delusional or Liars? You Be The Judge
- Cost of Iraq War: Civilian Lives, Lost Goodwill, and High Debt
