The title of Victor Davis Hanson’s recent book, The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern, reminds us of the martial origins of our political system. President Obama’s speech this evening reminds us that victory in war has a thousand fathers. Yet in some ways he tends to treat Iraq like an orphan — sending Vice President Biden to Baghdad this week, for instance, instead of doing the heavy lifting himself. This trend is evident in his remarks from the Oval Office, notwithstanding his praise of our warriors in uniform.
The end of combat operations in Iraq is not the end of our military role there. It is imperative to consolidate the gains of recent years, which, while impressive, remain tenuous. As this takes place, progress in Iraq must be linked to an American regional strategy for the Middle East and a trans-regional strategy in the War Against Islamic Terrorism. True, the president explicitly referred to “a transitional force” that will continue to train the Iraqi security forces and conduct counterterrorism operations, but he did not emphasize this. He exacerbated this perfunctory approach with the assertion that, “consistent with our agreement with the Iraqi government, all U.S. troops will leave by the end of next year.” Yes, this comment may be aimed at his left-wing base, but he is also dissuading the Iraqi government from requesting an extension of the U.S. military presence should conditions on the ground deteriorate.
There were additional unsettling phrases. President Obama used the word “partner” several times in reference to Iraq, including the phrase “friend and a partner.” But why not the more significant term “ally?” Iraq as a regional ally will pay immense dividends, not least as one of our other allies in the Middle East, Turkey, drifts towards Islamism and our enemy, Iran, fires its nuclear reactors. Twice he asserted that “it is time to turn the page,” first with reference to Iraq and second in a domestic context. This is inaccurate phrasing, almost dismissive. It is actually time to write a new chapter in the evolving relationship between the United States and Iraq, two sovereign states that have traveled a remarkable path from dire enemies to potentially strategic allies in a region, and a world, of imminent threat.
President Obama ended on a high note, highlighting the courage of our men and women in the armed forces. In this he speaks for all Americans. He was correct to place Iraqi veterans in the context of our national heritage of democratic valor. “Every American who serves,” he said, “joins an unbroken line of heroes that stretches from Lexington to Gettysburg; from Iwo Jima to Inchon; from Khe Sanh to Kandahar — Americans who have fought to see that the lives of our children are better than our own. Our troops are the steel in our ship of state.” And they know that this voyage is far from over.
– Joseph Morrison Skelly served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His latest book is Political Islam from Muhammad to Ahmadinejad: Defenders, Detractors, and Definitions (Praeger Security International, 2010).