Obama: Bulk of Iraq Troops Out of Iraq by 8/10/2010

Well, we've already celebrated Victory in Iraq Day so it will be a bit anti-climactic. Obama pledged to withdrawal and he's doing so but the political realities are greatly improved thanks to President Bush giving the green light to the surge and allowing Gen. Petraeus and his men the free hand to quell the violence, reach out to the communities and take the battle directly to al-Qaeda in Iraq with extreme prejudice.

I'm reading several accounts of the speech The One made yesterday and it's interesting how the media is portraying this as a complete withdrawal in the headlines, effectively giving Obama cover. We are leaving 30-50,000 troops there for the foreseeable future and if history is a guide, our presence will be fixed for decades. This is not what Obama called for back before the surge was announced and it appeared we were losing; back then, he was calling for a full withdrawal--no troops left or as Rep. John Murtha so idiotically recommended, a withdrawal to Okinawa.

Of course, the neo-liberal establishment isn't happy as they want everyone home regardless of the effect it would have on the Iraqi people and regional politics but then, they've always been morons when it comes to anything military, plus, they want the money we are spending in Iraq to go to more important things like punishing doctors who refuse to perform abortions or destroying the economy more.

So, to sum up, BHO came out and said we won in Iraq yesterday without actually saying it. He gave credit to the military men and women who pulled this off through effective strategies and diplomatic measures while utilizing the weaponry available. It would have been a class move to give President Bush the credit he deserved but at least we now have an official acknowledgement of our success. this is but one vistory in the greater War on Terror and it was an effective one.