Now, as per my last post, one could be mistaken for thinking that this looming Iraq withdrawal could signal a more international decline in troop levels. Well a bit of recent local news quickly puts that silly thought to rest.
Just this last week it was announced by Rhode Island’s State Adjutant General, Kevin McBride, that about 300 National Guards soldiers will by deploying very shortly to the Middle-East.
From the 1st Battalion, 126th Aviation regiment will come 140 soldiers destined for Kuwait and general aviation support.And from 1st Battalion, 143rd Infantry will come another 130 soldiers destined for Afghanistan to provide security for provincial reconstruction engineer teams.
So it’s fairly obvious that troops are still being deployed to the Middle-East on a regular basis and that any hope for widespread withdrawal was rather misguided. Perhaps even more misguided that you know…
While I made a point of going over the imminent Iraq withdrawal thoroughly in my last entry, there is one more aspect that should be made clear: why now?
The news came rather suddenly it seemed. Obama announced that all troops would be home for the holidays, not a day past the 31st. Most praised “his” decision and applauded the notion that war operations were beginning to wind down, even if just in Iraq. The simple truth is, however, that Obama and the current administration really deserve no credit for the withdrawal. The agreement that signaled that day, the 31st of December, 2011, as the day of withdrawal was established during the dying days of George W. Bush’s presidency. In the interim, Obama had actually fought for an extension to that deadline but ultimately failed. Thus the news story trumpeted to the masses neglects that little detail to boost Obama’s credentials, rather than the opposite.
Now I would like to make clear that I am not trying to discredit Obama or congratulate Bush, this agreement was not meant to serve as the definitive exit-strategy it now has. In recent councils with Iraqi leader Maliki, many alternatives were tossed about but none could be agreed upon in time to stop the default year’s end evacuation preparation (getting thousands of people of a country takes time after all). This rushed evacuation also leaves the prospect of long-term U.S. airbases up in the air, a failing that could have repercussions in dealing with combat logistics in the region for years to come.
Ultimately, the decision has been made by Iraqi leaders and our own U.S. president; troops will be shipped home and escape our 10 year battleground. Whether or not the lack of a more thorough and calculated evacuation/withdrawal will be criticized or forgotten in the future, the precedent is about to be set; U.S. soldiers are leaving the Middle-East, and I imagine American citizens will want to see this trend continue…
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