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Afternoon Open Thread: Five years after the “Fall of Baghdad” and what have we got to show? |
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Five years ago today, U.S. tanks rolled into downtown Baghdad and deposed Saddam Hussein, yet after five years of military involvement, life in Iraq looks no less bleak.
“A year ago, the president said we couldn’t withdraw because there was too much violence,” said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). “Now he says we can’t afford to withdraw because violence is down.” Asked Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.): “Where do we go from here?”
In Washington, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker are receiving less than enthusiastic responses for their testimonies to the Senate and House committees. Petraeus’s testimony leaves little “wiggle-room” for withdrawal, experts contend.
Meanwhile, others are saying U.S. attention to Iraq is diverting attention from the larger threat in the “war on terror” — al Qaeda.
Poll results and expert testimony increasingly link problems with the failing U.S. economy to war efforts in Iraq. (Will the U.S. be able to manage a hundred years of military engagement in the region?)
Yet, all of the hoopla and the testimonies in the West seem to negate the problems that persist in Iraq–despite the U.S. invasion, despite the fall of Saddam, despite the surge.
Clashes in Sadr City have resulted in twenty deaths today.
Attacks inside the protected “Green Zone” are on the rise.
Moqtada al-Sadr is threatening to end his cease-fire with the U.S., though he decided to call off the “million man rally” through Baghdad today for fear of additional bloodshed.
A strict curfew was put into effect in Baghdad, marking the anniversary of Saddam’s fall with heightened security and increased restrictions.
Five years after the “fall”, what have we, the U.S., the people of Iraq, the world gained from the fall of Saddam?
This is an open thread. Share your thoughts below.
