04/03/2009

Withdrawal of American Troops from Iraq

American President Barack Hussein Obama has announced the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq which ironically indicates that the troops will stay in Iraq for another 3 years. The withdrawal will be completed in 2 stages. A large section of the troops will leave Iraq by 13th August 2010 and the rest of them are expected to move out by the end of 2011. In essence, America will be in control of Iraq till 2011.
During his election campaign, the American President had stated that if he were elected, the American troops would be called back from Iraq within 16 months. But his statement now is not a fulfillment of that promise as troops will not be leaving Iraq even after 18 months of his assuming the office of the President.
The reason given for their presence in Iraq till the end of 2011 is that they will be providing help to the Iraqi police as well as to the peacekeeping forces.
He said that he wished to hand over Iraq to the Iraqi people and restore their legitimate rights which had been usurped.
According to him, to a great extent, unrest has been replaced by peace in Iraq and therefore there’s no reason for the American forces to continue staying there, but in sharp contrast he still wants them to remain there till 2011.
In reality, this announcement is the result of an agreement between President Bush and the Iraqi government, which was signed during the last few days of President Bush’s days in office and which is now being implemented. Apart from the Iraqis there were many American circles which had objected to it.
At present, there are about 150,000 American troops in Iraq and President Obama says that by 2010 the American war plan or mission will be complete, but after that too he wants to keep 50,000 soldiers there.
During the 8-9 year of this second attack on Iraq about 4500 Americans and more than 100,000 Iraqis have been killed as per the official count. Thousands of American soldiers have been injured and several thousands more have developed psychological problems.
President Obama was thought to be an opponent of the Iraq war as during his election campaign this was the image that was projected to the American people. According to him not only has this war brought great financial losses to the country but has also destroyed/hurt America’s dignity, as presently America is considered to be the destroyer of democratic values, an oppressive system that has not been able to justify any of the reasons given for the attack in Iraq.
After persistent efforts for 8 long years, they have not succeeded in proving the existence and use of Weapons of Mass Destruction(WMD) in Iraq and the claim that Iraq posed a great danger to the world. The elimination of Saddam Hussein too did not help America in restoring democracy in Iraq, its economy was shattered and the loss of innocent lives was a serious issue.
In the aftermath of this disaster, it was expected that the American troops would be recalled as fast as possible. It is the Iraqi people who will decide the form of government or system that they want. Who has the right to impose its own ideas on them and to murder the leaders and the system that they prefer??

Editor:Parvaz Rahmani, sehroza DAWAT, 04march09 translated by: Salma Nazir, Riyadh


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