The Iraq Combat Mission is Over

Last night President Obama addressed the nation regarding the end of the combat mission in Iraq. It was not a victory speech, because there was no victory. Thousands of U. S. soldiers died, tens of thousands were critically wounded, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis died.

Did the conflict make us safer from terrorism? On the contrary, it probably made us more vulnerable by increasing hatred of the U. S. and making a dangerous corner of the globe less stable. Yes, the vicious dictator Saddam Hussein was removed. But nothing better has replaced him. Iraqi infrastructure was destroyed. A secular society devolved into one torn by factional religious hatred. The country could still descend into civil war. Iran lies dangerously positioned on the Iraqi border.

Did the war bring us assets? It drained our treasury and limited our ability to deal with problems at home. It did nothing to decrease our dependence upon unfriendly countries for our oil. The only beneficiaries were the companies that supplied the materials and manpower needed to wage it.

What happens if Iran invades Iraq or, more likely, manages to insert itself into the Iraqi political process?

Iraq. Let there be no mistake. We broke it. We could not fix it.
I hope it's over.