Editorial: Tough lessons from Iraq War
U.S. Army soldiers from the 2-82 Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, walk to where they will board buses to begin their journey home to Fort Hood, Texas, after being one of the last American combat units to exit from Iraq on December 15, 2011 at Camp Virginia, near Kuwait City, Kuwait. Credit: Getty/Joe Raedle
Launched on false pretenses and fought with at least $1 trillion in borrowed money, the war in Iraq left nearly 4,500 Americans and more than 100,000 Iraqis dead, shredding what little goodwill our nation enjoyed in the Arab world.
Yesterday, at last, the flags were furled, the dignitaries spoke, and American forces formally withdrew. Now that the war is officially at an end, it's vital to ask whether we've learned anything from our terrible mistakes. The answer is: yes, but perhaps not enough.
Some of the lessons that took hold are obvious from our successes in recent years. We've learned to focus on the right enemy -- primarily al-Qaida, the international terrorist group responsible for the 9/11 attacks -- and that we can combat it much more effectively, at much lower cost, through accurate intelligence and precision strikes. That's how American forces ultimately killed Osama bin Laden.
In Libya, as in Iraq, we risked intervention against a tyrant. But no U.S. foot-soldiers or tanks were involved. On the contrary, this time we acted with restraint, at the invitation of Libyans, with support from Arab nations, and in close concert with allies, all to help the Libyans themselves overthrow their despot.
On the other hand, the global footprint of America's military is still too large, and we are still too enmeshed -- with too little good effect -- in the Middle East, a volatile region where conflicts simmer. Despite the end of the Iraq War, several thousand American soldiers, diplomats and other civilians will stay on, with additional forces nearby in other countries.
American troops, meanwhile, remain mired in Afghanistan long after we're likely to do much good there. It's hard to believe this mission wouldn't have gone better absent the distraction of Iraq, which siphoned troops and focus. President Barack Obama has a gradual withdrawal plan, and he should accelerate it. As to America's standing in the world, we continue to inflict needless wounds on ourselves by holding terror suspects indefinitely outside our traditional legal system.
Bad as the Iraq War was, it could have been worse, especially from the perspective of 2007, when the country we so easily conquered seemed likely to disintegrate in violence and chaos until a surge of additional U.S. forces arrived. Things are much better today. Despite the persistence of some appalling violence, Iraq is safer, the threat of civil war has dimmed, and the Iraqi people are ruled by a democratically elected government. We only hope its people can build a peaceful, secure and tolerant society.
The focus now must be on honoring the dead and caring for the living. It's crucial to make sure our returning veterans, many of whom suffered grave physical and psychological damage in this tragic misadventure, are given all the help they need to adjust to postwar life. That means medical care, counseling, training and job placement aid.
Time will tell if we've learned the biggest lesson of all from Iraq: that in the future, we can only ask our troops to fight and die in causes that justify their great sacrifice.
