Tomorrow, President Obama will address the nation live from the Oval Office, stating that he last combat troops have officially ended active combat operations. This address will be keeping with a campaign promise to end the war in Iraq and bring U.S. forces home.
Iraq right now is going through a transition without a fully functioning government, five months after it held elections and amid squabbling among participants on who should lead Iraq. America will still have about 50,000 troops in Iraq until next summer to advise and train Iraqi security forces before all troops will be out of the country.
The current administration, for all its rhetoric, has pretty much washed its hands of any involvement in Iraq. Iraq is currently a sovereign nation and has the right to dictate its own direction, but at the same time the U.S. can help mediate the dispute between the different competing factions. There is still too much at stake just to say, "well this is for the Iraqi's to decide." The U.S. must continue to be engaged in the process or all our efforts will be for naught!
It took many years after the Korean war ended for South Korea to establish a functioning democracy. If the U.S. just walks away at this crucial period, it would have won the war only to lose the peace, allowing other nations such as Iran and Syria to fill the vacuum. If this happens the U.S. will surely come to regret it!
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