In director Oliver Stone's movie about the Bush Administration, W., then-vice president Dick Cheney is mapping out an invasion of Iraq before the US government's top decision makers. When Colin Powell asks about a withdrawal strategy, Cheney says, “We're not leaving.” For him, it is the beginning of the true American Empire. President Barack Obama's announcement that he will pull out of Iraq all US combat troops by August of next year is a monumental repudiation of Cheney, even more so than Bush, who had begun talking of troop pullouts as his second term neared its end, perhaps finally coming to understand his shortsightedness in having listened to Cheney for far too long. Ironically, Obama's plan to withdraw combat troops and leave up to 50,000 troops in the country garnered far more Republican support, most notably that of Obama's former presidential election foe, Senator John McCain, than Democratic support. The Democrats wanted a smaller number of troops left behind; the Republicans were generally satisfied with the numbers. Generally, the announcement of the withdrawal falls within the lines of Obama's campaign promises regarding drawing down troops in Iraq. The August date is three months past what he had promised in his campaign and he always talked of leaving a number of troops there, though wisely he never mentioned an exact number. As with a number of other issues that have come up since the new president's inauguration, it is becoming clearer and clearer that Obama represents a much needed break with the past in terms of numerous US policies. He promised to bring to an end this foolish, unprovoked war initiated by his predecessor and he is doing so. The only problem lies in exactly what the mission of these remaining troops will be. Whether they are specifically combat troops or not, they are, indeed, troops who will carry guns and all of the other weapons of which US soldiers can avail themselves of. If they become targets of Iraqi insurgents, there is no doubt that the level of US troops will rise quickly. If not, their numbers will diminish, as well. Finally, it really is up to the Iraqi government and its security forces to make sure the Americans go and stay gone. __
