As our combat mission finally comes to an end in Iraq, the President will address the nation tomorrow, but it is highly unlikely that he will say “mission accomplished,” and rightly so, as there still remains a lot of work to be done there—not necessarily by our troops.
I have written admiringly and respectfully about the job that they, our troops, have done in Iraq and about their incredible sacrifices.
But, I have also written sorrowfully and critically about how little our country has done about the Iraqi refugee crisis, a tragedy that was a direct result of the invasion and occupation of Iraq and how, to this day, millions of Iraqi men, women and children still suffer and languish as either “internally displaced persons” in their own country or as refugees in other countries.
Others have already written extensively on whether the U.S. has accomplished the goals stated by President Bush when we invaded Iraq, “to disarm Iraq, to free its people, and to defend the world from grave danger.”
The Stars and Stripes in an excellent series of articles addressed the question: After “[s]even years, $748 billion, 4,414 American servicemembers killed [a]nd more than 113,000 Iraqi civilians dead…After all the death and destruction — and rebirth and rebuilding — what difference did America really make in Iraq?”
Many others are speaking out.
One of our own did not mince words in “Slouching out of Iraq”:
With the mission in Baghdad far from accomplished, the last U.S. combat troops leave behind 4415 dead, billions of dollars spent (or stolen) and come home to a nation that is much less safe or united after seven years of sacrifice.
In today’s Washington Post, Anne Applebaum writes, “It’s too soon to tell how the Iraq war went,” but goes on anyway to list some of the “casualties,” aside from “the very real blood and the very real money spent in Iraq”:
America’s reputation for effectiveness.
America’s ability to organize a coalition.
America’s ability to influence the Middle East.
America’s ability to think like a global power.
And one that particularly worries her, and me: America’s ability to care for its wounded veterans.
Today, an AP story discusses another half-finished task: the rebuilding of Iraq’s shattered infrastructure.
Starting with:
A $40 million prison sits in the desert north of Baghdad, empty. A $165 million children’s hospital goes unused in the south. A $100 million waste water treatment system in Fallujah has cost three times more than projected, yet sewage still runs through the streets.
The AP report discusses how, as we draw down in Iraq, the U.S. “is leaving behind hundreds of abandoned or incomplete projects.” How, more than $5 billion in U.S. taxpayer funds has been wasted on such projects, according to audits from the U.S. special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. The AP adds, “That amount is likely an underestimate…”
The AP reports that there are success stories and lists some of them, such as the Basra children’s hospital — one of the largest projects undertaken by the U.S. in Iraq. But even here, “the opening has been repeatedly delayed, most recently for a lack of electricity.”
But it adds:
…even completed projects for the most part fell far short of original goals, according to an Associated Press review of hundreds of audits and investigations and visits to several sites. And the verdict is still out on whether the program reached its goal of generating Iraqi good will toward the United States instead of the insurgents.
The article provides a glimpse into some of the problems that have plagued the Iraq reconstruction program since its beginning: poor management, tremendous cost overruns, incredible schedule slippages, poor coordination, egregious waste, rampant fraud, financial and contracting problems, U.S.-Iraq bickering, and, yes, “trying to run projects while literally under fire.”
Some of the most glaring examples of “non-success”:
A $40 million dollar prison designed to hold 3,600 inmates, along with educational and vocational facilities, abandoned by the U.S. in 2007 and which now sits in the desert, “piles of bricks and barbed wire [lying] around, and tumbleweed is growing in the caked sand.”
A $5.7 million convention center inside the tightly secured Baghdad International Airport compound, aimed at attracting foreign investors.
A Fallujah waste water treatment system and a “state of the art” pediatric specialist hospital with a cancer unit initially projected to be completed in December 2005 for about $50 million, but later soaring to “above $165 million.”
Fortunately, on this latter project, construction has been completed and, according to the hospital director, “The opening will take place soon, God willing.”
Yes, it’s too soon to tell how the Iraq war went. History, especially near-term history—what happens in Iraq in the next two to three years—will be the last word on whether we succeeded or failed in Iraq. More appropriately, whether the Iraqi people themselves are able to build upon what the U.S. and its allies invested in that country in blood and treasure.
UPDATE:
If President Obama’s speech this morning to our troops in Fort Bliss, Texas, is any indication, he certainly won’t declare “mission accomplished,” nor will his message represent a “victory lap” nor be “self-congratulatory.”
On the contrary, he told the gathered troops—whom he lavishly congratulated and praised—“Our task in Iraq is not yet completed…Our combat phase is over, but we’ve worked too hard to neglect the continuing work that has to be done by our civilians and by those transitional forces.”
He said:
There’s still a lot of work that we’ve got to do to make sure that Iraq is an effective partner with us. But the fact of the matter is that because of the extraordinary service that all of you have done, and so many people here at Fort Bliss have done, Iraq has an opportunity to create a better future for itself, and America is more secure.
The President also connected Iraq to Afghanistan:
The other thing that I’m going to talk about this evening is the fact that we obviously still have a very tough fight in Afghanistan. And a lot of families have been touched by the way in Iraq. A lot of families are now being touched in Afghanistan. We’ve seen casualties go up because we’re taking the fight to al Qaeda and the Taliban and their allies.
It is going to be a tough slog, but what I know is that after 9/11, this country was unified in saying we are not going to let something like that happen again. And we are going to go after those who perpetrated that crime, and we are going to make sure that they do not have safe haven.
He did not hide the dangers ahead:
And now under the command of General Petraeus, we have the troops who are there in a position to start taking the fight to the terrorists. And that’s going to mean some casualties and it’s going to mean some heartbreak. But the one thing that I know from all of you is that when we put our minds to it, we get things done. And we’re willing to make some sacrifices on behalf of our security here at home.
No, he won’t declare “Mission Accomplished.” Far from it.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.