The US will announce the end of the war in Iraq but is it really going to end?
Adelina Marini, August 31, 2010
Another pre-election promise of Barack Obama is on its way to be kept, although with a little delay. Tonight (CET) the American president will announce officially the end of the war in Iraq - a war, started in the spring of 2003 by Obama's predecessor George W. Bush. The incursion in Iraq was announced as the first "media war" because the first troops entered Iraqi territory, accompanied by numerous TV teams and newspaper journalists. Besides, this war incited a large part of the world against the US because of the lack of clear reasons for its start.
The motives changed constantly - first there were the unconvincing data that the dictator Saddam Hussein after all had managed to acquire weapons of mass destruction and, because of his refusal to show them or destroy them, the US had to take him down as president of the country. Then it appeared that in fact Saddam Hussein was cooperating with the terrorist network Al Qaeda and, later, that a nation must be set free from Saddam Hussein's dictatorship.
Whatever the reasons, the consequences of this war reverberated around the world and it would probably take years for them to fade away. But will the announcement of its end help the faster fading away?
The American president promises that the combat actions in Iraq would end but the US remains committed to a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq. For the purpose 50,000 US troops will remain in the country to advise and assist the Iraqi Security Forces as they assume full responsibility for the security of their country on September 1. Whether this would happen we are yet to see.
Currently in Iraq is Vice President Joe Biden, whose main task is to push for an end of the political deadlock that grabbed the country after the elections on March 7 because of the lack of a clear winner. Five months later a government is still to be formed, the BBC reported. In such an environment of instability it is not clear what will be the impact of the news for the official end of the combat actions, especially in a moment when the insurgents attacks increase as well as the explosions in the capital Baghdad.
(further details on the announcement you can read on euinside tomorrow)